One of the most characteristic of Bahiancuisine delicacies, acarajé is a dumpling made of cooked, crushed cowpea seasoned with onion and salt. After being fried in palm oil, the dumpling is cut in half and stuffed with a sauce made with finely-crushed combination of dried shrimp, pepper and onion.

The commercialisation of acarajé, according to several researchers, had its origin in the Brazilian colonial period, when the slaves of gain, rent or gainers who worked on the streets for their masters–went through the city selling goods like porridge.