Akara (West African Bean Fritters)

Savory and spicy. Light and fluffy with a crunchy exterior. Akara black-eyed pea fritters are a much-loved breakfast food from West Africa. 

What is akara?

Akara is a fritter from West Africa made from black-eyed peas (also called cowpeas). The dish looks strikingly similar to a beignet, but the flavor is quite different. 

Where do you find akara?

Akara is the much loved “go-to” breakfast for many countries across West Africa.

It is known as koose or akla in Ghana, kosai in Cameroon or bean akara in Sierra Leone.

It is also found in other parts of the world.

In Brazil, it is notably known as acarajé, and often served cut open and stuffed with various fillings from prawns to avocado.

A long history of black eyed pea fritters

Akara is just one of many dishes that shows the importance of cowpeas or black-eyed peas in West African cooking and cultural history.

As cowpeas are native to Africa, you can only imagine how old akara is as a dish.

In fact, traveling to Sierra Leone, you will find that many would refer to most fried batters as akara. Whether it is puff puff (Nigeria’s answer to beignets) or banana rice fritters, these are collectively referred to as akara. They are distinguished only by the grain or pulse base used in the batter.

Acarajé in Brazil

Traveling further afield, tracing the steps of West African descendants taken to Brazil, you will find many strikingly similar dishes in both religious use and meal pairings.

In the Bahian region of eastern Brazil, the native Yoruba culture uses acarajé in many rituals and offerings to various orishas (spirits). These rituals stem from an amalgamation of native Yoruba culture with Catholicism brought by the Portuguese; however, the African origin and traditions are really prominent.

During the rituals, acarajé is sometimes substituted with acaçá, a fermented corn steamed cake or dumpling. When looking back towards West Africa, it is easy to see the connection between acaçá and akasan, a fermented porridge. The appearance of which resembles eko, a fermented corn cake from the Yoruba culture of Nigeria.

A walk through some history and a look at akara for breakfast

Akara and akasan (or eko) make an incredibly nutritious breakfast. I tell you all about it in this video as I give some history and trace akara and traditional foods of my Ga-Adangbe ancestors.

What does akara look like?

Akara fritters literally look like a beignet-style doughnut, when fried as round dough blobs.

They can also look like golden brown, English muffins when fried flat.

Either way, they look so inviting that you could forgive anyone for thinking it is a sweet treat. 

Once you tear open freshly fried akara, you find a cream-to-white center with red or yellow flecks of chili.

Some people choose to add green and aromatic herbs, while others will have a few black spots in the middle from the skins and black eyes of the bean.

Finally, akara can range from golden brown to orange-brown, depending on the oil used for frying. The Brazilian version of akara favors the use of red palm or dende oil, which gives it that orange hue.

What does akara taste like?

The fact that they are often served for breakfast alongside a sweet fermented porridge or pudding should not fool you.

Akara is savory and spicy.

It is also light and crunchy, yet fluffy and soft on the inside.

It is almost remarkable that these beignet look-a-likes are made entirely out of beans.

The taste can vary depending on the type of bean used. In Nigeria, it is easy to find different varieties of cowpeas from light brown oloyin (or honey beans) to a darker version simply called brown beans. Outside of West Africa, black-eyed peas are prevalent.

From the name of the beans, you could probably tell that honey beans have a slightly sweet and pleasant taste. Black-eyed peas have a stronger “bean-like” taste and smell, however, if seasoned well, the flavors meld together resulting in a beautiful dish.

Which beans to use for akara?

The type of bean you use will affect soaking times and the ease of peeling the beans.

Honey beans are the easiest to dehull. You only need to soak them for 2 to 5 minutes maximum. The skins fall right off without much rubbing. I have tried this with one hand.

You might find my tutorial for skinning beans really helpful to watch when preparing your beans for akara.

Be careful not to soak your brown or honey beans for too long otherwise they will swell up and adhere to the skins, making it difficult to dehull.

Black-eyed peas are different.

These require at least 2 hours of soaking before continuing with the dehulling process.

For black-eyed peas, I find that some form of mechanical agitation is necessary, whether it is partially smashing in a pestle and mortar or processing for a few seconds in a blender. Water is then used to separate the skin from the bean.

A good tip is to carry out this step days ahead of cooking. You can dehull big batches, then store the beans in the fridge or freezer until ready for use.

Preparation variations making akara

Akara is often made from skinned beans, but some people choose to leave the skins on. (Leaving the skins on will result in flecks of skin in your finished akara.) 

Sometimes the akara batter is partially steamed before shaping then frying. This process of par-steaming is known as aflata, a West African cooking technique applied to the production of other steamed foodstuffs such as kenkey.

How is akara eaten?

Akara, coupled with akasan or pap, a fermented grain porridge, is a breakfast dish.

It is filling and satisfying, which suits the lifestyle of many city dwellers who contend with long commutes that often mean extended hours lapse between meals.

Outside of breakfast, akara can be served at any time of the day as an accompaniment to meals. For vegans and vegetarians in particular, these become the go-to for a nourishing meal.