Brazilian cuisine - By food author Howard Hillman

Top 3 Brazilian
regional cuisines

#1 and #2

Top 3
Brazilian cuisines
plus their famous dishes

Cariocan cuisine

Originated in Rio de Janeiro in the mid-south. Though mainly influenced by Portuguese cooking, Cariocan cuisine has developed unique local culinary characteristics.

Must-try preparations of this Brazilian cuisine include:

Feijoda Completa

This is the most famous Brazilian cuisine dish. It is an assortment of meats such as smoked tongue, jerked and fresh beef, pork, smoked and fresh sausages, and pig's feet and ears. These foods are arranged on a platter and accompanied by side dishes of black beans, rice, shredded kale, hot chili sauce, and orange slices. Manioc meal (ground cassava root) is then sprinkled over practically everything.

Tutu de Feijoa

A side dish of whole cooked black beans served with pureed black beans. An elaborate variant is Tutu a Meneira (pureed black beans mixed with eggs, pork, and Portuguese-style linguica sausage).

Bahian cuisine

Thrives in the mid-north along the east coast. This Brazilian cuisine style was highly influenced by the African slaves who were imported to work the plantations. Flavors are robust. Most ingredients are West African in origin or spirit, which is not surprising considering that Bahia resembles West Africa in geography and climate.

The classic Bahian dish is:

Vatapa de Camarao and Peixe

Fresh shrimp and fish in a thick sauce made with dried shrimp, coconut milk, nuts, and dende (a popular palm-nut cooking oil).