Akara (Black eye bean fritter) is a vegetarian bean fritter crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is a light airy black-eye bean batter, fried in hot oil and served with a side dish of spicy tomato sauce and baguette for breakfast.
Akara is a popular, breakfast dish found in any market, corner store or school canteen in The Gambia. It is delicious, and crispy perfect for snacking or brunch. It is said to have originated from the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria but has become a stable dish in The Gambia. Akara is also known as Acaraje, koose or black eye bean fritter.
This is a versatile dish, easy to make with simple accessible ingredients you can get anywhere in the world. I will advise you to buy peeled black eye beans because that will remove the process of peeling the beans yourself. It is very important to soak the beans until they have doubled in size, this will hydrate the beans and give you a soft batter. The gold standard in making Akara is to soak and hydrate the beans overnight. This might be due to people using mortar and pestle to puree the beans and remove the skin which requires intensive labour. Having an electric blender and buying already peeled beans can reduce the time of soaking. I will recommend you to soak the dry beans for a minimum of 1 hour. However, I still prefer soaking the beans overnight. Another important aspect of making Akara is to whisk the batter. This will incorporate air into the batter which will make the Akara light, crispy and fluffy when fried.
This Akara is served with a side dish of Spicy tomato sauce. You cannot have one without the other, they are served together. You can also serve it as an appetiser for the Sauce Yassa, Fish Yassa (Yassa poisson) and a refreshing drink Bissap (Hibiscus Juice).
Ingredients
- Peel Black eye beans: This is the main ingredient to make Akara, I bought the dry peeled beans to reduce the time of preparation.
- Rapeseed oil: I used rapeseed oil because it can be heated to a high temperature when cooking.
- Water: It will add more moisture to the batter.
- Salt: This will amplify the flavour and also help season the batter.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1: Soak the peeled dry beans in water. Overnight or, a minimum of 1 hour.
- Thoroughly, wash the beans. Discard the water and add the beans in a blender. Blend it until you have a puree.
Step 3: Add the puree in a mixing bowl.
Step 5: After whisking for 10 minutes you will have a fluffy light batter. Add salt, gently mix it in and set aside.
Step 7: Fry the Akara in small batches until lightly golden, flip and repeat on the other side. Then remove the Akara from the oil using a strainer lardle and set aside.
Step 4: Whisk using a stand mixer or electric hand mixer for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Heat the oil, until hot or to about 105 degrees. Using a tablespoon, Scoop the batter and add it to the oil.
Step 8: Place the Akara in a plate line kitchen paper towel, to remove excess oil. Then transfer to a serving bowl.
Storage
Akara is best served fresh, so I will recommend eating it within a day of making it.
Top Tip
It is very important to blend the beans until you have a puree, then whisk it to incorporate air into the batter. It is also very important to fry it in hot oil, if the temperature is too low the Akara will absorb too much oil.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are some of my favourite dishes to serve Akara with. Do give them a try:
Recipe
Akara
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
Akara (Black eye bean fritter) is a vegetarian bean fritter crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It is a light airy black-eye bean batter, fried in hot oil and served with a side dish of spicy tomato sauce and baguette for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of peeled Black eye bean (175 grams).
- ¼ cup of water (60ml).
- Pinch of salt
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Get a large bowl, add the peeled black eye beans and fill it with water. Soak the beans overnight, or for a minimum of 1 hour. Now drain the water used for soaking the beans, add clean water and thoroughly rinse the beans. Discard the water and set aside.
- Now add the rinse beans in a blender, add 60ml of water and blend it until you have a puree batter. Next, add the batter in a stand mixer and whisk it for 10 minutes, then set aside. (If you do not have a stand mixer, empty the batter in a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whisk it for 10 minutes, then set aside. ) After whisking the batter for ten minutes you will be left with a light airy batter.
- Now add a pinch of salt to the batter and gently mix it in using a spatula, then set aside.
- Using a deep fryer or frying pan, add a large amount of oil, and heat it on medium-high flame until hot or to about 100 to 105 degrees Celsius.
- Using a tablespoon, scoop a full spoon of the batter and gently add it to the hot oil. Fry it until lightly golden and gently flip it on the other side. When both sides are lightly golden, using a strainer ladle, remove the Akara from the oil and set aside on a plate lined with a kitchen paper towel. Do this in small batches, to avoid overcrowding and the the oil dropping in temperature. Which will make the Akara absorb too much oil. Repeat this process until you have fry the whole batch.
- Now remove the Akara from the kitchen paper towel and place them in a serving platter. Serve the Akara for breakfast by making a sandwich using a baguette. Slice the baguette open, add spoonfuls of spicy tomato sauce on each side, then generously add the Akara on one side. Close the baguette and enjoy your breakfast sandwich, with a beautiful cup of Ginger lemon tea or Bissap.
Notes
Blender: I used a Ninja blender and blended the beans on maximum blend, puree setting. But any electric blender will do.
Stand mixer: I used a Kitchenaid stand mixer, and whisk the beans on levels 2 for 5 minutes, then level 3 for 5 minutes. But any electric stand or hand mixer will do.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Breakfast/Brunch
- Method: Fry/ Deep fry
- Cuisine: African
