Àkàrà
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Àkàrà
''Akara'' (; , ) is a type of fritter made from cowpeas or beans (black-eyed peas) by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Benin and Togo. It is also known as Bean cake. It is found throughout West African, Caribbean, and Brazilian cuisines. The dish is traditionally encountered in Brazil's northeastern state of Bahia, especially in the city of Salvador. The dish was brought by enslaved Yoruba citizens from West Africa, and can still be found in various forms in Nigeria, Benin and Togo. ''Akara'' is made from peeled beans (black-eyed peas), washed and ground with pepper, and other preferred seasonings, then beaten to aerate them, and deep-fried in small balls. Brazilian acarajé is made from raw and milled cowpeas that are seasoned with salt, pepper and chopped onions molded into the shape of a large scone and deep-fried in dendê with a wok-like pan in front of the customers. It is served split in half and stuffed with ''vatapá'' and ''caruru'' – spicy pastes made from shrimp, ...
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Benin Cuisine
Beninese cuisine involves many fresh meals served with a variety of sauces. Meat is usually quite expensive, and meals are generally light on meat and generous on vegetable fat. In southern Benin cuisine, the most common ingredient is corn, often used to prepare dough which is mainly served with peanut- or tomato-based sauces. Fish and chicken are the most common meats used in southern Beninese cuisine, but beef, pork, goat and bush rat are also consumed. Meats are often fried in palm or peanut oil. Rice, beans, tomatoes and couscous are also significant staple foods. Fruits are common in this region, including mangoes, mandarin oranges, oranges, bananas, kiwifruit, avocados, pineapples and peanuts. Yams are the main staple in northern Benin, and are also often served with peanut- or tomato-based sauces. The population in the northern provinces uses beef and pork meat which is also fried in palm or peanut oil or cooked in sauces. Cheese is also frequently used in some dish ...
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Nigeria
Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, a population of more than 230 million, it is the List of African countries by population, most populous country in Africa, and the List of countries and dependencies by population, world's sixth-most populous country. Nigeria borders Niger in Niger–Nigeria border, the north, Chad in Chad–Nigeria border, the northeast, Cameroon in Cameroon–Nigeria border, the east, and Benin in Benin–Nigeria border, the west. Nigeria is a Federation, federal republic comprising 36 States of Nigeria, states and the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Federal Capital Territory, where its capital, Abuja, is located. The List of Nigerian cities by population, largest city in Nigeria by population is Lagos, one of the largest List of largest cities, metr ...
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Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population, seventh-largest by population, with over 212 million people. The country is a federation composed of 26 Federative units of Brazil, states and a Federal District (Brazil), Federal District, which hosts the capital, Brasília. List of cities in Brazil by population, Its most populous city is São Paulo, followed by Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has the most Portuguese-speaking countries, Portuguese speakers in the world and is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese language, Portuguese is an Portuguese-speaking world, official language. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a Coastline of Brazil, coastline of . Covering roughly half of South America's land area, it Borders of Brazil, borders all other countries and ter ...
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Yoruba Language
Yoruba (, ; Yor. ) is a Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern and Middle Belt, Central Nigeria, Benin, and parts of Togo. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. Yoruba speakers number roughly 50 million, including around 2 million second-language or L2 speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. Yoruba vocabulary is also used in African diaspora religions such as the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé, the Caribbean religion of Santería in the form of the liturgical Lucumí language, and various Afro-American religions of North America. Most modern practitioners of these religions in the Americas are not fluent in the Yoruba language, yet they still use Yoruba words and phrases for songs or chants—rooted in cultural traditions. For such pra ...
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Tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from and was domesticated in western South America. It was introduced to the Old World by the Spanish in the Columbian exchange in the 16th century. Tomato plants are vines, largely Annual plant, annual and vulnerable to frost, though sometimes living longer in greenhouses. The flowers are able to self-fertilise. Modern varieties have been bred to ripen uniformly red, in a process that has impaired the fruit's sweetness and flavor. There are thousands of cultivars, varying in size, color, shape, and flavor. Tomatoes are attacked by many insect pests and nematodes, and are subject to diseases caused by viruses and by mildew and blight fungi. The tomato has a strong savoury umami flavor, and is an important ingredient in cuisines around ...
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Hot Pepper
Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to add pungency (spicy heat) in many cuisines. Capsaicin and the related capsaicinoids give chili peppers their intensity when ingested or applied topically. Chili peppers exhibit a range of heat and flavors. This diversity is the reason behind the availability of different types of chili powder, each offering its own taste and heat level. Chili peppers originated in Central or South America and were first cultivated in Mexico. European explorers brought chili peppers back to the Old World in the late 16th century as part of the Columbian Exchange, which led to the cultivation of multiple varieties across the world for food and traditional medicine. Five ''Capsicum'' species have been widely cultivated: '' annuum'', '' baccatum'', '' chinense'', '' f ...
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Vegetarian
Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. A person who practices vegetarianism is known as a vegetarian. Vegetarianism may be adopted for various reasons. Many people ethics of eating meat, object to eating meat out of respect for Sentience, sentient animal life. Such ethical motivations have been codified vegetarianism and religion, under various religious beliefs as well as animal rights advocacy. Other motivations for vegetarianism are health-related, political, Environmental vegetarianism, environmental, cultural, aesthetic, Economic vegetarianism, economic, gastronomy, taste-related, or relate to other personality psychology, personal preferences. A small number of towns and cities around the world are exclusively vegetarian or have outlawed meat, including Rishikesh ...
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Cashew
Cashew is the common name of a tropical evergreen tree ''Anacardium occidentale'', in the family Anacardiaceae. It is native to South America and is the source of the cashew nut and the cashew apple, an accessory fruit. The tree can grow as tall as , but the dwarf cultivars, growing up to , prove more profitable, with earlier maturity and greater yields. The cashew nut is edible and is eaten on its own as a snack, used in recipes, or processed into cashew cheese or cashew butter. The nut is often simply called a 'cashew'. The cashew apple is a light reddish to yellow fruit, whose pulp and juice can be processed into a sweet, astringent fruit drink or fermented and distilled into liquor. In 2023, 3.9 million tons of cashew nuts were harvested globally, led by the Ivory Coast and India. In addition to the nut and fruit, the shell yields derivatives used in lubricants, waterproofing, and paints. Description The cashew tree is large and evergreen, growing to tall, with a s ...
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Shrimp
A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchiata, although some Shrimp#Non-decapods, crustaceans outside of this order are also referred to as "shrimp". Any small crustacean may also be referred to as "shrimp", regardless of resemblance. More narrow definitions may be restricted to Caridea, to smaller species of either of the aforementioned groups, or only the Marine life, marine species. Under a broader definition, ''shrimp'' may be synonymous with prawn, covering stalk-eyed swimming crustaceans with long, narrow muscular tails (Abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomens), long whiskers (Antenna (biology), antennae), and slender, Biramous, biramous legs. They swim forward by paddling the swimmerets on the underside of their abdomens, although their escape response is typically repeated flicks wit ...
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Caruru (food)
Caruru () is a Brazilian food made from okra, onion, shrimp, palm oil and toasted nuts (peanuts and/or cashews). It is a typical condiment in the northeastern state of Bahia, where it is commonly eaten with ''acarajé'', an Afro-Brazilian street food made from mashed black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in palm oil.''"Caruru, o prato afro-indígena mais antigo e popular"'' - por Guta Chaves, para a Revista História Viva, nº 20, pg. 15. Editora Duetto (junho 2005)FERREIRA, A. B. H. ''Novo dicionário da língua portuguesa''. 2ª edição. Rio de Janeiro. Nova Fronteira. 1986. p. 361. Etymology ''Caruru'' possibly comes from the African term ''kalalu''. Another possibility is that it is a Tupi noun, ''ka'á-riru'' (lit.: "eating herb"), as defined by the Brazilian folklorist Luís da Câmara Cascudo. It is a curious case of similar words, which generates some confusion between the plant and the dish. Origin Guilherme Piso, who lived in Pernambuco (1638–1644), ...
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Vatapá
Vatapá ( Yoruba: vata'pa, ) is an Afro-Brazilian dish made from bread, shrimp, coconut milk, finely ground peanuts and palm oil mashed into a creamy paste. It is a typical food of Salvador, Bahia and it is also common to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. In the northeastern state of Bahia it is commonly eaten with ''acarajé'', and as a ritual offering in Candomblé, with acaçá or acarajé. Vatapá is often eaten with white rice in other regions of Brazil. The shrimp can be replaced with other ingredients. Etymology "Vatapá" is probably derived from the term Yoruba ''vata'pa''.CUNHA, A. G. ''Dicionário etimológico Nova Fronteira da língua portuguesa''. Rio de Janeiro. Nova Fronteira. p. 812. Origin Vatapá is of African origin and arrived in Brazil through the Yoruba people with the name of ''ehba-tápa''. It is a typical dish of the northeastern cuisine and very traditional in the state of Bahia, where ''dendê'' (unrefined red palm oil Palm oil is an e ...
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Palm Oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from oil crops in 2014. Palm oils are easier to stabilize and maintain quality of flavor and consistency in ultra-processed foods, so they are frequently favored by food manufacturers. Globally, humans consumed an average of of palm oil per person in 2015. Demand has also increased for other uses, such as cosmetics and biofuels, encouraging the growth of palm oil plantations in tropical countries. The mass production of palm oil in the tropics has attracted the concern of environmental and human rights groups. The palm oil industry is a significant contributor to deforestation in the tropics where palms are grown and has been cited as a factor in social problems due to allegations of human rights violations among growers. In 2018, a repor ...
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