Akara

Name: Akara
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: West African
Ingredients: 2 cups peeled black-eyed peas, soaked; 1 Scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded; 1/2 cup red onion, chopped; 1/4 cup water; 1 tsp salt; 2 cups vegetable oil

Crispy on the outside and airy on the inside, these traditional black-eyed pea fritters are seasoned with onion and chili.

35 minMediumServes 4280 cal/serving

West AfricanBreakfastStovetop and BlenderVeganVegetarianHigh FiberHalal-friendlyGluten-FreeNut-FreeDairy-FreeSoy-FreeEgg-FreeSesame-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeAlcohol-Free

Ingredients

2 cups peeled black-eyed peas, soaked
1 Scotch bonnet pepper, deseeded
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable oil

Instructions

1

Place 2 cups soaked peeled black-eyed peas, 1 deseeded Scotch bonnet pepper, 1/2 cup chopped red onion, and 1/4 cup water into a blender.
2

Blend until smooth, adding minimal water to create a thick batter.
3

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add 1 tsp salt, and whip vigorously with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes to incorporate air.
4

Heat 2 cups vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
5

Scoop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry for 4 to 5 minutes until golden brown, turning once.
6

Drain on paper towels and serve warm.

Questions

How long does Akara keep?

Blend the base ahead and freeze it for up to a month, then re-blend it briefly before serving. Once assembled it does not keep; the texture goes as it melts, so eat it right away.

Can I halve or double Akara?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. Doubled, blend in batches rather than overfilling the jar.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,512 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.