When visiting Bahia, you will hardly come across a dish that has this delicacy, so we brought in this article What is Vatapá and its origin, for you to enjoy the rich history and composition of this Bahian food.
>> Leia em Português
Who am I?
I’m Rodrigo Schmiegelow, an advertiser specializing in Digital Marketing, today I live as a Digital Nomad (what is it), in other words, that I have geographic freedom and can work from anywhere in the world.
That’s why I can have amazing experiences like this.
I started a trip around the world to get to know places, cultures and regional cuisines and I will bring great surprises from these experiences.
I’m on the Farofa expedition, getting to know regional cuisines from all over Brazil.
Follow the O Mundo em Lanches Project (The world in sandwiches) blog on Instagram.
What is Vatapá?
It is a typical dish from the north and northeast of Brazil, being as typical food from Bahia, one of the best known references of Vatapá in other regions of the country.
In Bahia, it has softened bread (which can also be wheat, breadcrumbs or corn flour – but the most traditional is with bread), in this recipe adds fish meat, fresh shrimp, dried shrimp, peanuts, various seasonings and, of course, palm oil.
Some Vatapá from Bahia recipes may also contain coconut milk and ground cashews.
When I thought about what Vatapá is, I immediately thought of Acarajé (dumpling made of bean, onion and salt, and fried in palm oil), but living for a month in Salvador on the Farofa Expedition, I was able to eat this tasty delicacy as a side dish of several other dishes as I will talk later.
And if you still don’t follow the news from The World in Sandwiches, sign up and soon we’ll have the Vatapá recipe here too, it’s very simple to make – but not so simple to taste good!
What is Vatapá like in other regions of Brazil
Unlike the Bahian vatapá, in the north the basic recipe does not use peanuts (or dried fruits) and has the boiling of shrimp shells as the basis of preparation.
In addition, Vatapá in the north is considered a dish and is eaten only with rice, for example, in Bahia it is normally used as a side dish.
Also read: Culinary from Pará, the 6 typical dishes unmissable from Pará
Origin of Vatapá
The origin of vatapá is African.
It arrived in Brazil through Yoruba Africans enslaved in the mid-16th century and brought to the country on slave ships.
Its name originated from the Yoruba term vata’pa, but it was also known as ehba-tápa.
Some references that I studied say without much detail of this dish arriving in Africa by Arab traders who liked pepper, in Africa they were adapted until reaching the recipe close to what we know today.
The more I study and research on regional cuisines, the more I notice a continuous effort to erase the memory of African peoples with new studies pointing out some changes in established memories that show strength, resilience and cultural richness, as in the case of feijoada (brazilian stew of black beans with meats), for example.
Concluding the origin of Vatapá, this is not an “religious” dish, as is the case with others such as Acarajé and other typical dishes from Bahia used in Umbanda or Candomblé religion.
About Yoruba Africans
One of the largest ethnic groups on the African continent when it comes to population. This is because it is a link between different populations linked together by the same language, culture and history.
The ethnic groups in this connection are the Fon, Ibo, Igala and Idoma.
Much of this population lives in southeastern Nigeria, but there are also concentrations in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo.
With the enslavements that took place between the 15th and 19th centuries, traces of this culture and customs spread to several countries on the American continent: Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti.
In Brazil, a large part of the black population came from Yoruba lands.
More about the Yoruba People at these links in Portuguese and English
Yoruba people’s religion
As we will see in the series of publications: Bahian food, religion is a very important point in the cuisine of this state.
Then I introduce that the set of beliefs that inspired Candomblé, which is based on life in harmony and community with the main pillar in the soul of nature, was originated by the Yoruba peoples.
However, after the colonial period, Catholicism gained strength even in Yoruba roots in Nigeria and beyond.
What is Vatapá in the main typical dishes of Bahia
As I mentioned before, in Vatapá from Bahia works as a side dish. The main typical Bahian dishes that take this delicacy are:
- Shrimp bean ball – Acarajé
- Abará
- Frango xinxim – xinxim chicken
Do you know any more dish? Tell me in the comments.
What is Vatapá and its origin
Now you know that Vatapá cannot be missing from the Bahian board.
Did you know?
When I was in Salvador, I found out that Friday is Bahian food day.
In the friendships I made, it was essential to have Caruru (made from onion, shrimp, palm oil, okra and nuts) every Friday. But I also saw many signs of Bahian supper on Fridays of the week in various restaurants.
Due to Fridays be seen as the day of purification and lightness, so Friday should be lighter food.
This is all passed from father to son in a process of food identity in the Bahian cuisine. This is explained by Elmo Alves in this article for iBahia.
And you who want to learn the recipe for Vatapá and other dishes, follow the news from The World in Sandwiches on Expedição Farofa. Leave your name and email and follow the news!