Sambar served with carrots, spicy and mouth-watering Indian dish Carrot sambar Yoghurt kebab served in pita with yoghurt sauce and fresh parsley Yoghurt kebab Spicy Pho served in a bowl, spicy rice noodle soup with fresh coriander and lime slices Spicy pho Smoked BBQ wild boar leg served Smoked BBQ Wild Boar Leg Chocolate and orange cake served Chocolate & orange cake Omurice bowl served with miso soup, omelette and miso soup Omurice bowl with traditional miso soup Freshly baked peach strudel Peach Strudel Momo with curry sauce steamed and served Momos with curry sauce Apple pie ravioli served Apple Pie Ravioli Kibbeh Nayyeh raw meat appetiser Middle Eastern style served Kibbeh nayyeh Chestnut tangsuyuk, crispy chicken with roasted chestnuts and sesame seeds Chestnut tangsuyuk Falukorv stuffed with mustard and onion, served with fresh coriander Baked Falukorv with mustard and onion Risi e Bisi served Risi e bisi Pav Bhaji with classic vegetables, served with fresh coriander and toasted rolls Mumbai street style pav bhaji Boiled sweet potato with chilli, spicy vegetable dish with coriander Boiled Sweet Potato with Chilli and Coriander Kebab in pita served Kebab in pita Freshly baked ciabatta rolls Homemade Italian ciabatta rolls Sacher waffles served Sacher waffles Golden baked cornmeal squares with visible chunks of white feta cheese Cheesy Cornbread (Proja) with Feta Misozuke, with fresh vegetables, in a miso paste marinade Misozuke Sambar served with carrots, spicy and mouth-watering Indian dish Carrot sambar Yoghurt kebab served in pita with yoghurt sauce and fresh parsley Yoghurt kebab Spicy Pho served in a bowl, spicy rice noodle soup with fresh coriander and lime slices Spicy pho Smoked BBQ wild boar leg served Smoked BBQ Wild Boar Leg Chocolate and orange cake served Chocolate & orange cake Omurice bowl served with miso soup, omelette and miso soup Omurice bowl with traditional miso soup Freshly baked peach strudel Peach Strudel Momo with curry sauce steamed and served Momos with curry sauce Apple pie ravioli served Apple Pie Ravioli Kibbeh Nayyeh raw meat appetiser Middle Eastern style served Kibbeh nayyeh Chestnut tangsuyuk, crispy chicken with roasted chestnuts and sesame seeds Chestnut tangsuyuk Falukorv stuffed with mustard and onion, served with fresh coriander Baked Falukorv with mustard and onion Risi e Bisi served Risi e bisi Pav Bhaji with classic vegetables, served with fresh coriander and toasted rolls Mumbai street style pav bhaji Boiled sweet potato with chilli, spicy vegetable dish with coriander Boiled Sweet Potato with Chilli and Coriander Kebab in pita served Kebab in pita Freshly baked ciabatta rolls Homemade Italian ciabatta rolls Sacher waffles served Sacher waffles Golden baked cornmeal squares with visible chunks of white feta cheese Cheesy Cornbread (Proja) with Feta Misozuke, with fresh vegetables, in a miso paste marinade Misozuke
Acarajé served with pineapple, spicy bean balls and fresh pineapple
Crispy Brazilian bean fritters served with fresh pineapple salsa

Acarajé with Pineapple

Author: Flavelo
Recipes Main Courses
Acarajé is not just food, but a sacred offering to the gods in the Candomblé religion, which became iconic street food on the streets of Bahia. The basis is grain-by-grain wisdom: black-eyed beans must be soaked and rubbed until the skins come off, then beaten until airy. This 'flavour trapped in air' is fried until crisp in palm oil. The freshness of pineapple here counterbalances tropical heat, creating a vibrant contrast with the rich bean dough.
🕒 Prep Time 20 mins
🍳 Cook Time 20 mins
⌛ Total Time 40 mins
🍽️ Servings 4 servings
🔥 Calories 450 kcal
🌍 Cuisine Brazilian

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

  • Food processor: To purée the beans.
  • Wooden spoon: To aerate the dough (traditionally beaten by hand).
  • Deep frying pan: For deep frying.

Allergen Information

⚠️ Cereals containing gluten (if panko is added)
⚠️ Eggs (if added)

Instructions

1 ✓

Soak the beans overnight, then rub the grains in the water to remove the skins. Remove the skins (they float to the top).

Tip: Removing skins is a critical step! With skins, the dough will be dark and bitter, and cannot be beaten until fluffy.
2 ✓

Put the cleaned raw beans, onion and garlic into a food processor and work into a smooth, creamy mass. Try without adding water!

Tip: The less water you use, the better the texture. The moisture from the onion is usually enough.
3 ✓

Put the mass in a bowl, add salt, pepper, paprika. Now comes the work: beat the dough with a wooden spoon for at least 10-15 minutes until it increases in volume and becomes frothy.

Tip: This is 'proofing without fermentation'. Mechanically introduced air makes the ball light after frying.
4 ✓

If the mass is too soft, add a little panko crumbs, but the original recipe uses only beans.

Tip: Egg is also just an emergency solution, authentic acarajé is purely plant-based (vegan) dough.
5 ✓

Form large dumplings from the frothy mass with two spoons and fry them in hot coconut oil until reddish-golden.

Tip: There should be plenty of oil so the balls float in it.
6 ✓

Dice the pineapple small, mix with a little chilli (optional), and serve alongside the halved, hot acarajé as a refresher.

Tip: The pineapple's bromelain enzyme helps digest the protein-rich beans.

Recipe FAQ

Why did the ball become heavy and dense?
You didn't beat the dough enough. The secret lies in air bubbles, just like a sponge cake.
Does it fall apart when frying?
The beans remained too wet, or the oil wasn't hot enough.

Ingredients

  • 300 g Black-eyed beans (dried)
  • 100 g Panko breadcrumbs (optional binder)
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 pc Onion
  • 1 tsp Paprika
  • 1 tsp Sea salt
  • 0.5 tsp Black pepper
  • 1 pc Egg (optional, if it doesn't hold together)
  • 1 pc Fresh pineapple
  • 500 ml Coconut oil (or palm oil) for frying