akara
Akara, also known as bean cakes, is a popular Nigerian breakfast made by frying whipped seasoned bean batter. While many people often buy it from street vendors, it’s actually quite simple to make at home. So, save this recipe and set your alarm, let’s all enjoy Akara this Saturday!
akara
Akara and Pap must’ve been voted as the national meal for Saturdays by our ancestors as it’s remained a constant in most Nigerian households. Every time I prepare this dish, I can’t help but remember my childhood; the only change now is that there are fewer chores and a lot more eating!
What is Akara?
Akara, also known as bean cakes, is a popular Nigerian breakfast made by frying whipped seasoned bean batter. While many people often buy it from street vendors, it’s actually quite simple to make at home. So, save this recipe and set your alarm, let’s all enjoy Akara this Saturday!
Akara is like a fried version of the famous Nigerian Moimoi
What You’ll Need
Beans: While I prefer brown beans, you can also use white beans, honey beans(oloyin), black-eyed peas, or lentils.
Onion & pepper: the authentic akara has little bits of chopped onions and pepper. They add to the overall flavour the peppers also add heat and to the Akara. Feel free to adjust the quantity of the peppers or omit them altogether for a milder version.
Cooking Oil: Vegetable oil is traditionally used for frying Akara, but you can also try palm oil (gives it a distinctive taste and crunch).
Seasoning: I like to keep it simple with just salt; however, some people prefer to add bouillon cubes for extra flavor.
how to prepare the beans for akara
- Pick through the beans to remove stones and dirt
- After picking, rinse the beans and discard the water
- Add water and soak for 10 minutes to soften the peel
- Rub beans between your palms until the peel separates
- Add enough water so that the loose peels float
- Carefully pour out the water along with the peels into a sieve
- Repeat the last step until the beans is completely or almost clean and leave to soak in water for 6-8 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Soaking beans help achieve the best texture and also helps breakdown the complex sugars that cause digestive discomfort and gas
Blend the beans
Using a strong blender, blend the beans with as little water as possible into a smooth and thick batter. This step is crucial and it’s often the demotivator for making akara at home as the regular blenders may struggle to blend the beans with very little water. Your blender tamper comes in handy in this step as it’ll help push the beans down ensuring it blends smoothly and evenly. If you’re confident in your blender, go ahead and give it a shot.
Incorporate air into the batter
Traditionally, street sellers use a wooden spoon or mortar and pestle to to continually mix the beans paste until it’s fluffy. In modern times, we use whisk, hand or stand mixers to aerate the mixture.
Be careful not to incorporate too much air or your akara will come out too light. Remember, we are aiming for the perfect texture – not too dense and not too airy.
Seasoning
Season with salt, chopped pepper and onion. Some people people like to add crayfish and bouillon cubes but my hand no dey that one lol!.
I like my onion and pepper chopped into tiny pieces so I can have little tastes of them with each bite.
Frying
Deep fry your batter. A wok or deep with adequate oil works best. Akara is fried in medium/low heat/ once the oil is hot, drop in a little batter to test the temperature. You can also try Palm oil for a crunchy and tasty akara. I love the little crunchy nuggets left at the bottom of the pan! You can get this by adding tiny bits of batter into the pan- scoop out once crunchy so they don’t burn.
Akara and Akamu
how to serve akara
Akara can be enjoyed on its own and is usually best paired with:
Akamu/Pap- I like to scoop my pap with the akara serving as a spoon but that’s a story for another day!
Custard- for those who prefer custard to pap.
Bread- sandwich your akara inside Agege bread or between 2 bread slices, press and enjoy!
Garri- chilled garri and hot akara seriously bangs!
A side of pepper sauce- enjoy with spicy accompaniment.
Tips on making the best akara
Soak your beans: soak in the fridge overnight or for about 6-8hours. This process is important to achieve the right texture. It also helps aids better absorption to prevent bloating and gas.
Thick batter: blend your beans with as little water as possible to create a thick smooth batter. It should be able to hold its shape when fried. Remember, it’s easier to fix a thick batter than a runny one.
Don’t overmix your batter: While it’s important to whisk in air to make the mixture fluffy, overmixing can make your Akara too light and airy. You can use either a mixer or a whisk; just be careful not to overdo it.
Make sure your oil is the right temperature: too hot and your Akara would be undercooked and too cold would make your Akara greasy. To test the temperature, drop a small amount of batter into the oil- if it sizzles and floats, it’s ready to go- if it starts to burn too quickly, reduce the temperature. To get crunchy Akara, fry on medium low heat.
Deep fry: deep frying helps the Akara float and preserving the shape. Shallow oil it would come out flat.
Check for doneness- if you’re unsure if your Akara is cooked on the inside, you can pick one and cut open to check if the inside is completely cooked. If it’s not, you can adjust the temperature or leave it in for a little longer
Drain oil: place fried akara on a sieve or plate lined with paper towel to absorb any excess oil. This helps keep them crispy.
Serve hot: akara is best enjoyed hot and steamy!
faqs
What’s the difference between Akara and Moimoi?
Akara is fried while Moimoi is boiled/steamed.
What’s the best beans for akara?
Brown beans /honey beans are great for akara, black eyed peas also work well.
Why is my akara scattering?
The oil is too hot and causing the akara to scatter. Reduce the cooking temperature and test the oil before frying. Too much liquid can also cause the akara not to be able to hold its shape.
Why is my akara sinking/soaking oil?
This can be caused by too much water in the batter or too low heat.
Why is my akara flat?
This usually happens when too much liquid is added when blending . It can also be a result of frying in shallow oil or pan.
Can I use powdered beans?
Yes you can, although the akara would come out less fluffy. Simply mix the beans in water to form a thick paste and allow to sit and fully absorb the water, then whisk and season and fry.
Can I use peeled beans?
This is great if you’d like to skip the peeling process. Simply soak for 6/8 hours or overnight in the fridge and blend.
watch how to make it
Ingredients
- 3 cups brown beans
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ small small onion
- 3-4 scotch bonnet pepper/atarodo
Instructions
- Pick the beans to get rid of stones, debris and dirt. If using peeled beans, skip to step 5.
- Add enough water to the beans and let it sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, peel the beans using your hands or a food processor.
- To separate the beans from the chaff, add water until the chaff floats, then pour through a sieve to remove the peels. Repeat this process until your beans is completely clean.
- Allow the beans soak for 6-8hours or overnight in the fridge (see note).
- Transfer your beans into a blender, add a little water and blend until smooth.
- Once smooth, transfer to a bowl and whisk with a mixer, whisk or wooden spoon for about 7-10minutes until it becomes light and fluffy. Be careful not to overmix.
- Chop your pepper into tiny bits using a knife or food processor .
- Season the whisked beans to taste with salt and add the chopped pepper and onion into batter.
- Whisk for another 1-2 minutes until the ingredients are fully incorporated
- In a pan, heat up your cooking oil and scoop in your batter using a spoon or a small scoop and fry on medium/ low heat until golden brown. If you love the tiny crunchy bits at the bottom like me, drop in a few tiny balls into the batter and scoop up when golden brown.
- Remove the akara and transfer to a bowl or plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag, mention or DM @kikifoodies. I would love to hear from you!
