Description
Akara are crispy West African black-eyed pea fritters, golden on the outside and fluffy within, enjoyed as a beloved comfort food.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 cups of black-eyed peas
- 1 onion
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 or 2 habanero peppers
Instructions
- Soak 5 cups of black-eyed peas in a bowl of cold water overnight. Make sure there are several inches of water above the beans because they will soak it up. The next day use your hands to gently rub the beans to remove the skin. The skin floats to the top of the water; drain and rinse until only the beans remain.
- Place the beans in a blender with the onion and bell pepper.* You can also add habanero pepper to taste if you like spicy. Pour the batter into a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon, then add the salt. Stir fast for several minutes to get the batter smooth and fluffy.
- Heat up oil in a pan and drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil. You can cook several at a time in the pan. Cook for a few minutes and then flip to cook both sides evenly.
- Remove from oil and place on a plate covered with a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Notes
To avoid burning out the blender I put the onion and pepper in first and the beans on top. It helps it blend easier.