Creamy ritual sauces served with fritters and rice

Vatapá—a silky paste of bread or cassava flour with seafood, coconut milk, dendê, and herbs—often fills acarajé or accompanies rice and fish. Caruru features okra, dried shrimp, onion, nuts (peanut or cashew), and dendê cooked into a luscious, tangy-nutty stew. In September, caruru de Cosme e Damião is prepared and shared in festive community meals. Beyond fillings, both function as mains or sides, exemplifying Bahia’s blend of African ingredients and local produce. They appear in home cooking, street stalls, and comida de santo offerings, underscoring cuisine as culture and devotion.