Akara

Akara is a common Nigerian finger food which originated from Western Nigerian.

Yoruba people are known to share akara with their loved ones and well-wishers whenever there is an event such burial ceremonies, birthdays especially for twins, investitures, traditional festivals, naming ceremonies and so many other events.

As it is with many Nigerian recipes, over time, other Nigerian tribes have also adopted akara into their meal plans because of its delicious taste and health benefits.

Buying akara is very easy in Nigeria. Wherever you are simply asking anyone around you where you can buy akara and you will surely be directed to the nearest street food vendor close to your location.

Akara Recipe

This recipe is one of the most highly sought after recipes for Nigerian street food because akara is a general breakfast favourite of many people.

Akara is easily combined with many other foods to achieve a delicious and fulfilling breakfast experience.

Here are some of the delicious akara food combinations Nigerians enjoy.

• Akara and Pap or Akamu
• Akara and bread
• Akara and Oats
• Akara and Custard

As a result, many people would love to learn how to make it from the comfort of their homes rather than buying from street food vendors every time.

To be honest, it is better to make akara yourself from the comfort of your home rather than buying from street food vendors.

Why you should consider making akara yourself

There are two reasons why you should really consider learning how to make akara. for this namely; cost effectiveness and hygiene.

• Cost effectiveness – Taking your time to learn how to make akara using an akara recipe is cheaper than buying akara because you will surely get more value for your money in terms of quantity and quality as well.
• Food Safety and Hygiene – We should be concerned about how the foods we consume are being prepared. It is an open secret that, street food vendors do not always prepare foods they sell in very hygienic conditions.

All the reasons stated above are the reasons why you should consider learning how to make akara yourself.

In this recipe, I will be writing about how to make akara using beans flour. Using beans flour to make akara will save you a lot of cooking and preparation time.

Using beans flour is great for people outside Nigeria who only have access to beans flour not raw beans.

For those who have access to raw beans, the use of beans flour is great way of reducing food preparation time.

Beans flour is easy to make and you can read all about how to make it here .

I will go ahead to list all the ingredients needed for this recipe below.

Ingredients for Akara

• 2 1/2 cup Beans flour
• 1 1/2 cup water
• salt
• 3 cups vegetable oil
• 1 medium size onions
• 4 scotch bonnet peppers

How to fry akara with beans flour

• Add 2 1/2 cups of pure beans flour into a bowl
• Gradually pour lukewarm water into the beans flour while mixing at the same time.
• Do this till you get a semi-thick consistency as shown in my recipe video on youtube
• After mixing, cover the bowl and set aside for 10 -30 minutes depending on how long you can wait.
• Chop the onions and peppers set aside
• Put your frying pan on your cooker
• Set the cooking temperature to high heat
• Pour the vegetable oil into the frying pan and allow the oil heat up well
• Add some onion slices into the oil for a nice flavour
• Measure the exact quantity of beans batter you can fry at once into a clean bowl
• Add salt, onions and pepper
• Mix very well
• Gently scoop the mixed beans batter into the hot oil
• Do this till all the mixed beans batter is finished
• The beans batter will float almost immediately
• Allow the akara fry on both sides till it turns golden
• While frying lightly press the akara down with your spoon to ensure that the inside is well cooked
• Place a bowl beneath your basket or colander to help drain excess oil
• Scoop hot akara out of the hot oil and into the basket
• Do this till all the beans batter has been fried.

Akara is ready to be enjoyed alone or with your favourite food.

Fluffy Akara is easy

Many people shy away from making akara because it does not turn out as fluffy as it should.

In fact, a lot of people have resigned to buying akara because whenever thy try to make it at home it ends up scattering in the cooking oil, not floating when it should or soaking up too much oil thereby making it too oil and not suitable for eating.

This has made several people think that they need fancy kitchen equipment in order to be able to make fluffy akara.

Online food vlogs also make it seem like you cannot get the perfect akara without a mixer.

This is not true.

Below stated are the common mistakes made when frying akara.

Common Mistakes while making akara

These are the common mistakes that make your akara unfit for eating.

Too little oil: Using little oil will make your akara flat and in worse cases, it will stick to the frying pan while absorbing all the oil. To remedy this, use a lot of oil why you want to fry akara.

Seasoning cubes: Nigerians are used to adding seasoning cubes to their meals while cooking that many people automatically add it to their akara batter before frying.

All you need to achieve a delicious akara just like you buy from your roadside food vendor is just salt. Adding seasoning cubes to your akara batter will surely make it scatter in the hot oil.

But If you know you like the taste of seasoning cubes so much that you must add it to your akara batter then you will have to add eggs to you akara batter before frying.

The eggs will act as a binding agent in order to stop it from scattering in the hot oil.

Mixing mistakes: When you want to fry akara, you need to be careful not to mix all the beans batter with salt, pepper and onions at once.

If you do this the beans batter will eventually become watery before you get the chance to fry all of it. The result will be a watery akara that will not bind well in the hot oil.

Instead of mixing everything at once, get a small bowl and mix only the portion you want to fry immediately.

Another mixing mistake is not mixing the batter well with your spoon before scooping it into the hot oil. Mixing well helps to incorporate the air the akara needs to float and be fluffy into the batter before frying.

Kindly visit my YouTube channel to watch the video of this recipe. While you are there, I would love you to subscribe as well.

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