Brazilians love to get fishy
SEAFOOD IS THE KING OF THE MENU IN BRAZIL, AND IT’S RELISHED IN EVERY AVATAR — BAKED, GRILLED, FRIED...
The blending of cultures results in fusion in the kitchen. In early 16th century, under commander Pedro Alvares Cabral, the Portuguese colonised the northeast part of Brazil. They imported African slaves for manual labour and many of them stayed on. Since then, I believe much of the region’s cuisine and culture has been a cross-breed of Portugal and Africa. The fusion is especially apparent in the bustling cities of Salvador and Recife.
Being a beach zone, it comes as no surprise that fresh seafood and shellfish are the most popular items on the menu. The natives love their seafood and grill, bake or fry it deep. Amongst, the numerous options, I enjoyed digging into
Moqueca. It is a fish or prawn dish, consisting of diced tomatoes, onions, garlic, coconut cream and lots of coriander green, seasoned with palm oil and then baked in the oven. The confluence of flavours is absolutely exquisite in this dish. The key to it is to only use fresh seafood and not any frozen
stuff.
Moqueca tastes best with plain steamed rice, according to me. And it is best enjoyed with a glass of
Caipirinha. In case, you are wondering what the latter it is, it’s an amazingly delicious cocktail made of
cachaca (sugar cane hard liquor), lime and sugar.
Every Saturday, Brazil observes Feijoda day. Most restaurants have large buffets serving this national dish. For the uninitiated,
Feijoda is a black bean stew with a variety of salted pork or beef products, such as pork trimmings (ears, tail, feet) bacon, smoked pork ribs, and at least two types of smoked sausage and jerked beef along with vegetables like cabagge, kale, potatoes, carrots, okra, pumpkin, chayote and even banana. The flavours of meat, black bean and vegetables merge to create a delicious, rich dish. I absolutely relish having it with the fried polenta (a popular side dish).
The street food of a region is connotative of its culture. Of the various dishes, I swear by the Acaraje, a black-eyed pea paste formed into a ball and then deep fried in palm nut oil, stuffed with tomatoes, shrimps and hot peppers. It is blissfully hot and tangy, just right to tantalise your tastebuds!