Glossary
Abará – black-eyed beans crushed and seasoned
with spices and dried shrimp rolled in banana
leaf cooked in water bath or vapor.
Acaçá – Rice or corn cake, very common in the
Afro-Bahian cuisine.
Acarajé – black-eyed bean cakes fried in palm
oil, usually served with shrimp or vatapá filling.
Açaí – also known as “assai”, a typical fruit from
the Amazon region.
Alcamonias – sweet made, in general, from mo-
lasses and flour
Alféola – dough of sugar or sugarcane honey,
in a thick texture, that when kneaded becomes
whitened. Used for candies.
Aluá - Soft drink made from pineapple or rice,
sugar and lemon, sold commonly by black wom-
en in the colonial cities.
Ambrosia – a traditional Portuguese dessert.
Arroz carreteiro – rice, shredded dried meat and
spices mixed together.
Baba-de-moça – a typical sweet from Brazil made
from yolks, coconut milk and sugar syrup.
168 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13
Baião de dois – rice, beans spices and often meat
all cooked together
Barreado – a typical dish from the coast of
Paraná.
Beijus – A type of manioc or tapioca biscuit baked
and rolled.
Bobó de camarão – creamy shrimp stew made
with maniocs and palm oil.
Bom-bocado – sweet made of sugar, yolks, flour,
grated coconut or cheese.
Bolo de estudante – fried cake made with tapioca
and grated coconut.
Brevidades – crackers of polvilho (manioc flour),
sugar, eggs, etc. baked.
Buchada de bode – goat viscera thoroughly
cleaned and cooked in its own stomach.
Canjica – a white variety of corn, very typical
of Brazilian cuisine commonly used in a sort of
sweet porridge.
Carimã – cake prepared with fat manioc dough,
in the shape of flattened discs dried in the sun.
Caruru – Afro-Bahian food made with okra, dried
shrimp and peanuts.
 Catimpuera – type of fermented beverage made
from cooked or smashed corn or manioc, mixed
with water and bee honey
Chimarrão – strong tea prepared from the greens
of the yerba mate, a South American traditional
beverage.
Cocada – grated coconut and sugar.
Empadinhas – tidbits made in small molds with
a crumbling crust filled with shrimp, chicken,
meat, cheese or vegetables like palm of heart and
spinach. A large version of empada is usually
served as a main course and is called empadão.
Farinha d’água – manioc flour made from the
manioc roots after it has been left to soak in the
river for a few days, producing a more humid
flour.
Farofa – toasted manioc flour
Fubá – maize flour
Galinha à cabidela – cooked chicken with blood
sauce.
Gergilada – sweet made from sesame seeds.
Guariroba – variety of heart of palm with bitter
taste;
Flavors from Brazil 169
Lelê – cake made with corn and coconut.
Mãe-benta – a sweet cake made from cornstarch,
butter, sugar and eggs.
Maniçoba – food made out of manioc shoots
mixed with meat and/or fish and seasoned with
salt and pepper.
Mendubi – peanuts
Mineiro de botas – dessert made with fried ba-
nanas and melted cheese.
Mocotós – cow feet
Mojica – a stew of spotted surubim fish cooked
with manioc and spices.
Moqueca capixaba – a fish stew of native Brazil-
ian influence, Espírito Santo style.
Moqueca de banana-da-terra – a plantain stew.
Paçoca – a dish made of meat with manioc
meal.
Pamonha – sweet or salted corn paste rolled and
baked in fresh corn husks.
Papo-de-anjo – dessert prepared with yolks
beaten with sugar, baked in small molds.
 Passarinha – roasted ox spleen.
Pastéis – fried pastries made from wheat-based
dough with salt or sweet fillings.
Pé-de-moleque – a sweet made with candy and
peanuts.
Pequi rice – rice cooked with pequi (a souari
fruit), typical of the Cerrado with a strong smell
and taste.
Pinhão – nuts of the Paraná pine
bay leaf, onions, garlic, cumin, clove and lime
juice.
Sarrabulho – Guisado of lamb or pork’s viscera
and blood.
Vatapá – traditional dish of the Afro-Bahian cui-
sine with fish or crustacean mixed with a mush
made from manioc flour, palm sauce and pep-
per.
Xerém – thick corn flour

Pinhoada – sweet made from honey and pine

nuts.

Pirão – mush prepared with fish broth

Queijada – a pie made with flour, milk, eggs,

cheese and sugar, cheesecake

Quindim – a cake made with yolk, sugar and co-

conut

Tacacá – a shrimp-based dish from the amazon

region

Tapioca – a flavorless starchy ingredient pro-

duced from treated and dried cassava (manioc)
root and used in cooking.

Torresmo – crackling (crisp, browned rasher of

lard)

Tucupi – a seasoning prepared of pepper and

manioc juice

Tutu de feijão – mashed beans in broth thickened

with manioc flour.

Sarapatel – dish made with pork or other ani-

mals’ viscera and blood, seasoned with parsley,

170 Texts from Brazil . Nº 13