HEY GUYS I'M NEW HERE... MY NAME IS RALPH AND I'M A FOODIE. Here's my first contribution to the foodie life;

WHAT IS AKARA?

Breathe... Akara (also called Beancake) is a Nigerian bean snack, usually a breakfast meal, and completely vegan. It is made from a black-eyed bean purry, spices to taste, and deep-fried in vegetable oil (or grease like the Americans say). Fitfam enthusiasts have been known to air-fry the Akara mix and it still came out okay.

Source

What's so unique about the Akara spot I found?

The Nigerian beancake I grew up loving was perfect and I never thought it needed any upgrades till I met gourmet chef 'Akaraboy' who reinvented Akara... with a simple trick; adding chicken bits to it and deep-frying (to get burnt edges). I tell you it was revolutionary it started a new movement around the City I live in.

black eyed peas

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

1. Black-eyed peas
2. Pepper (habanero or paprika)
3. Vegetable oil
4. Salt
5. Seasoning cubes
6. Fresh basil or curry leaves
7. Onion balls or powdered onion

DIY PROCEDURE

1. Presoak the beans for about an hour to loosen its skin. Remove any skins are attached to individual beans by rubbing the bean between your palms in handful amounts. To separate the beans from the skins, tip them back into the saucepan, add lots of water and swirl around in a circular motion until the skins have risen to the top. Scoop out the skins and leave the beans to soak.

2. In a food processor add the beans, habanero chillies and the onion ball (after taking out the outer onion skin of course) and a little water as you don't want your paste thick. Blend till you have a fine paste then set in a bowl.

3. It's time to season the paste to taste (usually seasoned very light). Start with a pinch of salt, one seasoning cube, and herbs to taste [For the non-vegan option you can add shredded chicken, turkey, prawns or any other protein of choice at this point].

4. Preheat your oil at high heat (not high enough to burn your house down but high enough to give you that sizzle when chicken goes in... yes that sizzle)
   

5. Shape into balls, with your hands, roughly the size of eggs and shallow-fry, in batches until golden. Or just do simple scoops with a spoon in bite sizes.

6. Once it's golden brown on all sides it's ready to come out of the oil into its full glory. Set on a paper towel to absorb excess dripping oil and your delicious beancakes are ready for a love session with you.
   [fitfam guys can skip the whole deep-frying section and go-ahead to air fry the balls in batches]

I mean c'mon look at these beauties.

Serve Inspo

Burger what??

With a side of Custard + milk + Sugar

On a platter with pepper soft serve and fried yams/potatoes

Ketchup dip

Pepper platter with its distant cousin... Fried plantains (deserves her own blog post IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS)

Here a Youtube link that's easy to follow and DIY.

Let me know if you try it out or have had it before and what you think. Cheers😀