Vatapá, acarajé, caruru: this exotic mouthful of sounds, ripe for rolling around the tongue, is matched only by the exoticism of the ingredients themselves, which come together to make one of the most emblematic dishes in north-eastern Brazil's superb cuisine. A street-food staple in Salvador, the capital of the state of Bahia and the epicentre of Afro-Brazil, the deep-fried, black-eyed-pea patties ( acarajé) are split and filled with vatapá (a thick yellow paste made from ground shrimp and peanuts, coconut milk and thickened palm oil), then crowned with a handful of shrimp and a dollop of caruru, a saucy little condiment made from okra. The acarajé at this five-square-metre hole-in-the-wall joint at the top of a bar-packed street close to Mackenzie University are served with grace, charm and warm smiles by Fátima and Miri de Castro.

The state of Bahia in the northeast of Brazil is more heavily influenced by Africa than any other part of the country, in everything from music to religion to food. The region’s famous dish is moqueca, a rich seafood stew of palm oil and coconut milk, but at O Tabuleiro, you’ll find only one dish—acarajé—and it’s the best version in the city. Similar to West African akara, this black-eyed pea fritter is filled with caruru (an okra stew), vatapá (a shrimp paste), whole dried shrimp, and vinaigrette, all in one busy bite.

A traditional pastry from the state of Bahia, the acarajé has become a city favourite due to the high number of migrants from that Northeastern state. Made with black-eyed peas and fried in palm oil the acarajé is then opened and stuffed with seafood or chicken. Making them at home is almost always a failure, for they say that to make a good acarajé you must be a Bahia native.

The dish has an African origin, the word Acarajé originates from the Iorubá language: Àkàrà means fireball and Je means to eat. It’s a dumpling made with black-eyed beans, fried in palm oil, and stuffed with shrimp, vatapá (a creamy paste made with dry shrimp, coconut milk, peanuts, and palm oil), caruru (okra stew that also takes shrimp), and pepper sauce. This delicacy is typically sold by the ‘Baianas of Acarajé’, dressed in traditional clothing.

This no-reservations spot in the hipster hangout of Santa Cecilia celebrates acarajé, a street food from the northeastern state of Bahia. Of Yoruba origin and brought to Brazil by enslaved Africans, acarajé consists of a bean patty deep-fried in rust-red palm oil and filled with vatapá and caruru, pastes made from shrimp, peanuts or cashew and okra and topped with dried prawns. They make a mean Caipirinha, too.