Akara (Accara): Nigerian and West African Bean Fritters

You will recall that the other day, I had mentioned moi moi as one of my favorites, but I have other dishes that are also on my list of top foods. Akara (also known as accara) is another favorite of mine and is quite easy to make. Akara are popular Nigerian and West African bean fritters made natively from brown beans, cowpeas or black eyed peas; blended with fresh pepper, onions and salt and deep fried. Akara is one of the most popular breakfast staples in Nigerian homes and a very popular street snack as well. You will commonly find Nigerian akara sold by street sellers on their own or as part of what is locally called “akara burger”, where a local bread favorite called “agege bread” (so named due to its popularity in the streets of Agege town in Lagos State, Nigeria) is stuffed with several pieces of this bean fritter resulting in an amazing snack somewhat similar to a falafel burger (but much better in my obviously biased opinion). In this Nigerian akara recipe, I show how to easily make the fluffiest, most delicious and totally vegan bean fritters and use them in my own elevated akara burger.

Akara is also quite popular in the West African region in places like Ghana where it is called ‘koose’ and Senegal where it goes by the name “accara”. There is a version also enjoyed in Brazil where West African migrants call it ‘acaraje’ with their black eyed pea fritters commonly stuffed with shrimp. There isn’t any difference in the methods of preparation of Nigerian akara, Ghanaian koose or Senegalese accara, but there might be slight differences in how these bean fritters are eaten, depending on region. While akara and koose are eaten similarly, in Senegal, it is very common to serve accara with a side of kaani sauce: a spicy, tomato-based sauce usually used for dipping (which I also used as a side in this recipe for variety). West African bean fritters have some similarities to Moi moi (another African bean pudding) in that they employ very similar blended beans mixtures but unlike Moi moi that is usually steamed or baked, these are fried.

How to Make Akara

Main Ingredients

• One and a half cups brown beans or black eyed peas – Nigerian akara natively utilizes black eyed peas, cowpeas, West African brown beans or honey-beans which are a sweeter variety of brown beans. Brown and honey beans may be available at a local African store near you.
• Half of a red onion
• 2 scotch bonnet/ habanero peppers – Feel free to use less or omit if you aren’t into spicy food.
• 3 teaspoons of vegetable bouillon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying – I tend to prefer canola oil because it is a flavorless oil. Feel free to use any other flavorless oil like avocado oil, sunflower oil or vegetable oil. If you choose to use palm oil as is traditionally used, just be aware that it will add its own unique flavor (which some prefer).

Skin and Prep the Beans

First of all, start by skinning the beans. Simply soak the beans in water for 3 minutes. After about 3 minutes, the skin of the beans should start wrinkling a little bit. Place the beans in a food processor, with some water, just enough to cover it. Pulse the food processor about 5-6 times to agitate the beans. This process breaks the beans up and separates the skins off the beans. Be careful, some water might splash out of the processor while pulsing the beans.

Wash the Beans

Pour the skinned beans in a bowl. Rinse several times to separate the beans from the skins, draining the skins with the water with each rinse. The skins should come off easily because the skins are lighter and should float to the top.

Once the beans are clean, soak them in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.

After the beans have soaked, drain the water that they have been soaking in, and rinse the beans one more time.

Grind the Peppers

Using a mortar and pestle or a food processor, grind the scotch bonnet peppers to a rough paste and set aside.

Blend Beans and Onions

Blend the beans and the onions with 1/2 a cup of water until it is completely smooth. The texture should be similar to that of a thick muffin batter.

Fry the Akara Batter in Oil

Heat up oil for deep frying in a pan up to 375°F while preparing the batter.

Add the salt, bullion, and scotch bonnet peppers to the akara batter, mixing continuously for five minutes to incorporate air into it.

With a large spoon, drop the akara batter a spoonful at a time into the hot oil to fry. Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side until it is golden brown both sides, take out of the frying oil and place into a colander or on paper towels to drain.

Serve hot!

Akara can be served by itself, but these West African bean fritters are commonly paired with a side of pap (a fermented corn based porridge common in Africa, also called ‘akamu’), eaten with cold soaked garri (finely ground cassava flakes soaked in cold water), custard or porridge oats as side dishes . However, as we hinted earlier, one of the favorite ways these bean fritters are commonly eaten in the streets of South Western Nigeria is as a burger.

Making an Akara Burger

Akara burger features quite predominantly as a breakfast snack or meal in the streets of Akure city of Ondo State, Nigeria or Osun state, Nigeria where it was called ‘akara osu’. Akara burger is natively made with bean fritters most commonly fried in palm oil and stuffed between the warm loaves of fresh long bread! Certain versions of this delicacy were stuffed with crayfish or prawns (highlighting the strong connections to the acaraje origins now). It is amazingly delicious so we had no choice but to replicate it!

This section describes how to make an akara burger using sweet Ghana bread. To assemble the burger simply place the bean fritters between your favorite bread buns ( instead of the usual agege bread, I used my own homemade Ghana sweet bread buns), and top it off with your favorite burger toppings. I topped my akara burger with caramelized onions, sprouts, and tomatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my Akara flat?

The most likely reason you might end up with flat akara after frying is that you used too much water in the batter. If you add too much water, the fritters might not be able to hold their consistency while deep frying and ends up flat. Another possible reason is that the oil you fried the akara in is too shallow, so try adding more oil before deep frying.

Can I add Maggi to Akara?

It really isn’t necessary to add maggi and as you can see from this recipe, Akara turns out perfectly without it. But if you must, as long as you reduce the amount of salt you add to the batter and taste as you go, it should still turn out okay.

How do you reheat Akara?

The best way to reheat Akara so it retains its consistency is to warm it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes. You can also microwave it but I find that using an oven keeps it as moist and close as possible to its original texture.

Can you freeze Akara?

Freezing Akara can affect the texture, so Instead, I recommend keeping it in any container no more than 7-8 days in the refrigerator.

Please be sure to rate my recipe and leave a comment below if you tried these delicious West African bean fritters! Also while you’re here why not take a quick second and subscribe to my newsletter to get email notifications on new recipes, click the links to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST or INSTAGRAM? You can catch some behind the scenes action, my shopping hauls, personalized tips and friend-only recipes with videos on my Instagram. Also pin this recipe for later and explore some of my favorite recipes on Pinterest and if you love it as much as I know you will, SHARE with some friends! 

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4.84 from 6 votes

Nigerian Akara Recipe

Akara (Accara) are tasty, deep fried, Nigerian brown bean or black eyed pea fritters that are also quite popular in West Africa and are served alone, with a side of starch, kaani or in a burger.

Prep Time5 hours hrs

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, Nigerian, West African

Servings: 30 pieces

Calories: 21.6kcal

Author: Yummy Medley

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups black eyed peas
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 scotch bonnet/ habanero peppers
• 3 tsp vegetable bouillon
• Salt to taste
• Oil for deep frying

Instructions

• First of all, start by skinning the beans. Simply soak the beans in water for 3 minutes. After about 3 minutes, the skin of the beans should start wrinkling a little bit. Place the beans in a food processor, with some water, just enough to cover it. Pulse the food processor about 5-6 times to agitate the beans. This process breaks the beans up and separates the skins off the beans. Be careful, some water might splash out of the processor while pulsing the beans.
• Pour the skinned beans in a bowl. Rinse several times to separate the beans from the skins, draining the skins with the water with each rinse. The skins should come off easily because the skins are lighter and should float to the top.
• Once the beans are clean, soak them in water for at least 4 hours or overnight.
• After the beans have soaked, drain the water that they have been soaking in, and rinse the beans one more time.
• Using a mortar and pestle or a food processor, grind the scotch bonnet peppers to a rough paste and set aside.
• Blend the beans and the onions with 1/2 a cup of water until it is completely smooth.
• The texture should be similar to that of a thick muffin batter.
• Heat up oil for deep frying in a pan up to 375°F while preparing the batter.
• Add the salt, bullion, and scotch bonnet peppers to the bean batter, mixing continuously for five minutes to in-cooperate air into the batter.
• With a large spoon, drop the batter a spoonful at a time into the hot oil to fry. Fry for 3-5 minutes on each side until it is golden brown both sides, take out of the frying oil and place into a colander or on paper towels to drain.
• Serve hot!

Video

Notes

Akara Calories and Nutrition

The nutrition information of a single West African bean fritter is shown below using the ingredients listed to make 30 balls of Akara, and assuming a 10% oil retention on fried foods.

If you are looking for other delicious beans recipes, why not check out my Nigerian Beans porridge recipe or click here for more delicious vegan African recipes?