Upmarket acarajé - Cabana da Negona restaurant

In recent posts, the traditional sale of acarajé on street corners and squares throughout Bahia has been discussed. In the most recent post on this subject, the close connection between acarajé and the Afro-Brazilian religion of candomblé was highlighted. However, not all acarajés are sold in this traditional manner, and this signature dish of Bahian cuisine shows up on restaurant menus everywhere in Brazil, from small hole-in-the-wall lunch spots, to white tablecloth fine dining establishments.

In more upscale restaurants, the traditional acarajé is more likely to be modified or altered; in the more traditional ones, it is likely to be served exactly as it is outside on the streets. Last night, I dined here in Fortaleza with some friends in a Bahian-style restaurant called Cabana da Negona. The name of this restaurant is particularly hard to translate into English. It literally means The Hut of the Large Black Woman. But negona, and similar Portuguese words derived from "negro" such as neguinho and negão, are familiar and affectionate and are even used in Brazil to refer to persons who are not black. So, you might say a better translation for the name of this restaurant is "Big Mamma's Hut."

Although the inspiration of the cuisine at Cabana da Negona is Bahian, the menu offers many non-traditional dishes. Their acarajé  is served as an appetizer, and consists of six mini-sized acarajé served with the traditional accompaniments of dried shrimp, hot chili paste, chopped tomatoes and onions, and vatapá. The platter served two perfectly, and remained true to the tastes of Bahia without the heaviness which often mars traditional acarajé. The chili paste was appropriately strong, and the shrimps were large, well cleaned and trimmed, and not overly-strong in flavor. As they say here in Brazil, it was uma delícia.