Thursday 21 February 2013

Akara | Nigerian Bean Fritters



These delicious bean fritters can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack (served with your favourite dips), or as an appetiser.

Deep-fried akara


Ingredients
2 cups black eyed beans (peeled)
1 medium onion
1 large red bell pepper
1 scotch bonnet pepper
Salt to taste
Sunflower oil

Soak the beans for a few hours. Peel the skin off by rubbing them between you hands. The skin should fall off easily, but the process can be long and arduous (so please watch the video above to learn a quick and easy hack for peeling the beans more efficiently).

Grind the peeled beans, peppers and onion to form a thick batter. I used one cup of water to lighten the mixture for this recipe. You be the judge, but just make sure that it does not get too runny. 

Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and season with salt. 

Heat some oil in a deep fryer or large frying pan. Add the mixture in spoonfuls, making sure to avoid overcrowding the pan. Fry until golden brown on both sides and drain on some kitchen paper.

These are so good fresh and hot, but taste just as good when they're warm/cold. Enjoy!

7 comments:

  1. My favorite Nigerian food after Moi Moi. Great blog! Love from an Eritrean-American sista!!!

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  2. What dips would go with this dish?

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    Replies
    1. This would go perfectly with a spicy pepper and/or tomato based dip.

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  3. please with a meal like this, how is it possible to not gain weight on a vegan diet'; because i recently started eating vegan 3 weeks ago 90% for the purpose of weightloss. how cani achieve weight-loss and still eat yummy food while being vegan

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    Replies
    1. You can still enjoy your favourite yummy foods and lose weight - it's all about the way you prepare them. Reduce the amount of oils, fats and salt in your meals to see results.

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  4. This is a wonderful site. I have tried out some of the recipes - akara, efo riro, etc. Really great. Thank you very much, Tomi. God bless you.

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