Akara

West African black-eyed pea fritters

Origin: West Africa (Nigeria, Benin, Ghana)

From the journey of Cowpea.

Akara is the cowpea fritter of West Africa, crisp and golden outside and light within, and one of the region's great breakfast and street foods. It is Yoruba in origin and Yoruba in name, àkàrà, and it is made along the whole West African coast under other names: kosai in Hausa, koose in Ghana, and accara in Senegal. The beans are cowpeas, usually black-eyed peas or the small brown honey beans called oloyin, soaked until their skins slip, rubbed clean, and ground with onion and pepper to a thick paste, which is then whipped until it is full of air, so that spoonfuls dropped into hot oil puff and crisp rather than sit heavy. In Nigeria it is eaten in the morning with ogi or akamu, the fermented maize or sorghum porridge, or split and stuffed into bread. The fritter crossed the Atlantic with Yoruba captives and survives almost unchanged in Bahia as acarajé, where it keeps its Yoruba name, is fried in red palm oil, and is sacred to the orixá Iansã in Candomblé; the baianas de acarajé who sell it in white dress are registered as Brazilian intangible cultural heritage. It is one of the clearest cases anywhere of a dish carried across the ocean intact.

Ingredients

Main

250 g dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight

Aromatics

1 small onion, roughly chopped

Spice

1 scotch bonnet or habanero chilli (or ½ for less heat)

Seasoning

1 tsp salt

Liquid

2 tbsp water, approximately

Frying

500 ml palm oil or neutral oil, for frying

Method

Peel the soaked black-eyed peas by rubbing between your palms, floating the skins off in a bowl of water, and draining. Repeat until most skins are removed. Drain well.
Blend the peeled peas, onion, chilli, salt, and water together in a food processor or blender until very smooth: smoother than you think necessary. The batter should have no visible graininess.
Transfer the batter to a bowl. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon or electric hand mixer for 3–5 minutes, incorporating air. The batter will lighten in colour and increase slightly in volume. This step is what makes the fritters light and fluffy.
Heat the oil in a deep heavy pan to 175°C / 350°F. Using a spoon, drop rounded tablespoons of batter into the hot oil. Fry in batches for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deeply golden and cooked through.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately while hot and crisp.

Notes

Akara is best eaten fresh and hot: the crust softens quickly. In Nigeria, they are eaten for breakfast with ogi (a smooth fermented corn porridge) or with pap. In Brazil as acarajé, they are split and filled with shrimp vatapá (a spiced shrimp paste). A simpler serving option is hot sauce and a soft bread roll. Palm oil is the traditional and most authentic frying medium, giving the fritters a distinctive orange colour and slightly earthy flavour.

The Gastrographer

Name: Akara
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: West Africa
Ingredients: 250 g dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight; 1 small onion, roughly chopped; 1 scotch bonnet or habanero chilli (or ½ for less heat); 1 tsp salt; 2 tbsp water, approximately; 500 ml palm oil or neutral oil, for frying

Mapping Culinary History

To explore — select an ingredient below.

To explore — select an ingredient below · click any location dot on the map for recipes and stories · browse the information panel on the right · trace the full journey on the timeline.

Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control