Black eyed pea fritters (acarajé)

Black eyed pea and shrimp fritters with a crunchy texture and a mild nutty flavor with hints of shrimp. Split them open and stuff with various fillings.

Ingredients

2 c black eyed pea (soaked overnight in cold water, rinsed and drained)
1⁄4 c shrimp (dried shrimp, soaked 30 minuts in cold water, drained)
1 onion (medium sized, peeled and chopped)
  salt (to taste)
  cooking oil (for frying, red palm oil, dendé)

Instructions

Drain the soaked black-eyed peas and rub off the skins. Rinse in cold water.

Put the black eyed peas, soaked shrimp and onion in a food procesor and blend. Season with salt if necessary.

Pour red palm oil in a fryer or deep pan. Heat it. When the oil is hot, drop the blak-eyed pea mixture by the spoonful. Fry until golden on both sides, turning once.

Drain on kitchen paper and serve just warm.

Total time
1 hour
Cooking time
20
Preparation time
40
Yield
2 dozen

Notes

Once soaked, the black eyed peas, rub or process lightly in a food processor to break them. Rinse several times in cold water an remove floating skin until all skin is removed.

Use canned black eyed peas or black eyed pea flour as a shortcut.

Hot sauce for black eyed fritters

Purée 1/4 cup dried shrimp, soaked 30 minutes in cold water and rinsed, with 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped, and 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped. Fry 2-3 minutes in red palm oil. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Source

beans & pulses, snacks
challenging, frying
Brazilian food recipes
Food in America