Travel Kitchen - Akara, like my mother used to make

March 25 2012 , Written by thediversetraveller Published on #Akara recipe, #bean pancake recipe, #bean pancakes, #Food and childhood, #food and culture, #food and travel, #identify, #Nigerian dishes, #Nigerian snacks, #Ola Fagbohun, #Recommendations & Rants (tips, links and reviews), #Travel Beyond the UK, #travel kitchen, #Travel Kitchen (recipes and food stories from around the world)

Most Sundays bring out the Pavlov's Dog response in me, as I lie in bed eyes tightly closed, waiting to sneeze.

My nose peeks out of my duvet, nostrils flaring waiting to inhale the intoxicating smell of sizzling blended beans, fresh bonnet peppers and chillies, sweet red onions and unknown spices. Eyes tightly closed, I watch my mother scoop large soup spoonfuls of pale grainy and pinkish batter in to the frying pan. As the batter hits the oil, the batter spreads out forming firm rough circles as they soak up the vegetable oil.

My mother wipes the dripping sweat off her smooth forehead with her slender right digit finger, on to her worn but still colourful ankara wrapper, the heat of the frying batter is intent. As she does this she eyes the frying pan, while barking instructions at me, "watch what I'm doing so you can do it next time, wash-up as you go along, set the table," and so on. Welcome to the Fagbohun family Akara Sunday!

Akara is the Yoruba (western Nigerian tribe) name for fried fluffy bean pancakes, containing hot pepper and onions. To a Yoruba person Akara is what pancakes are to an Americas. And Yoruba's are not the only people to love this savory snack, other versions can be found all over Africa and in North-eastern Brazil where they are called Acarajé, carried to Brazil by Yoruba slaves.

While the memories of eating of Akara is enjoyable, the preparation memory are less so. Akara preparation started on Saturday with the soaking of the beans. The beans are soaked so it is easier to remove their skin, and to soften them so they are easier to grind. This was a job nobody wanted, but as the eldest of four, the job often fell to me. With with my mother's sharp eyes drilling into me, I knew I was in trouble, should I show her a bowl of magnolia beans containing even one black-eye or brown skin.

But the others didn't get away job-free, Akara Sunday meant we all had to be in the kitchen, and as only three of us were deemed old enough to cook, that is where we stayed until we were no longer required. The others chopped the ingredients to go into the bean mixture, usually bonnet peppers and onions. In that kitchen, I remember alongside lots of chatting and laughing, much crying, either as a result of my mothers feedback regarding my bean-washing duty, or from whoever was doing the chopping, as they always wiped their eyes with their pepper chopping hand.

Akara like mother used to make

Happily the tears never lasted long, as once the washing and chopping had passed muster, my mother took over. She added the ingredients to a blender and pulsed it all, with water, into a grainy batter, similar to the consistency of a cake batter. Then having placed the frying pan on the stove, containing the right amount of vegetable oil, she warned me to keep an eye on it and make sure it did not get too hot. Using only her eyes and smell, she determined when the oil was perfect to receive the overladen large soup spoonfuls of bean batter, and suddenly the entire house smelt of sizzling bean batter infused with the sweet smell of pepper and onion. Then she'd sprinkle on to each pancake a few chopped onions, which immediately sunk into the batter, and at the right time, like a magician she'd deftly flick them over, and they would land intact; a skill I am yet to master. The golden pinkish underside exposure to our hungry eyes, made our mouths water, as we knew very soon, these savoury pancakes would be on our plate. Ah the good ol' days!

Of course, the smell no longer visits me in the same way, as I now longer live with my parent s or siblings. Instead, on Sundays when I am visited by this craving this childhood memory, I create my own Akara Sunday. Akara Sundays, are important to me, not only because it conjures up a cherished childhood memory, but because it reminds me how lucky I am to have grownup in two cultures, cultures that have given me steak and kidney pie, and Akara.

If you want to join me on my Akara Sundays, or any other day, try out the Akara recipe below from the Nigerian Chef Blog and, follow the preparation and cooking guidance in the video from the All Nigerian Food Recipes website. While, it's not my mother's recipe, her only recipe is in her head, I have used it and I often enjoy the fluffy and tasty result.

Akara (Western Nigeria)

Preparation Time: 6-8 hours to soak the beans, then 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

250g black-eye beans

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 onion small onion, chopped

150ml water

salt to taste

palm oil or vegetable oil for frying

Makes: 4-6 Portions

Method:

Preparation: Soak the black-eyed beans overnight in cold water

Next day rub the beans between the palms of your hands to remove the skin. Rinse the beans several times in order to rinse to, remove the skin and drain the beans thoroughly. You may have to do this several times. Cheat tip: if you don't want to take this labour intensive approach you can buy bean flour.

Place the beans with the chilies pepper and onions in a food processor and blend them to a, smooth paste. put the mixture into a bowl and add salt, spices and a little water to make it light gradually stir with a wooden spoon until you have a thick paste.

Heat the oil till smoke appears in a large saucepan.

Deep fry a tablespoon of the mixture at a time turn frequently on each side until they are golden brown.

Drain the oil from the akara and serve with hot sauce or salt, as a snack, an appetizer, or a side dish.