Caruru (food)

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.

[2] Guilherme Piso, who lived in Pernambuco (1638–1644), reports the caruru made with medicinal and food herb (and not with okra).

In his story in Historia Naturalis Brasiliae, the doctor from Count Maurício de Nassau informs that "this bredo (caruru) is eaten as a vegetable and cooked instead of spinach ...".

Another account, in 1820, in the Amazon, by Von Martius, mentions the "caruru-açu" during a meal with the natives near the Madeira River, when he experienced "a delicacy of chestnuts pounded with an herb similar to spinach ..." .

The current version of the caruru, however, is more African than indigenous, being made with okra, chili, dried shrimp and palm oil.