Street Stall · Shrimp & Bread Purée
Vatapá
Photo: User:Mizunoryu / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
The origin of its name is disputed, with Yoruba and Portuguese roots both proposed, and the dish is also cooked as an offering in Candomblé, Bahia's Afro-Brazilian religion.
A thick, orange-hued purée of bread, ground peanuts and cashews, coconut milk, dendê oil, and dried shrimp, ladled hot into cups or over rice at Bahian street stalls. It's often sold alongside acarajé as a topping rather than a standalone plate.
Why it's made this way: Vatapá's peanut-cashew-coconut base reflects Bahia's specific fusion of West African, indigenous, and Portuguese ingredients that never spread with the same intensity elsewhere in Brazil.
More from Brazil
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Coxinha (Chicken Croquette)
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Acarajé
Tapioca (Beiju)
Abará
Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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