What it is
Peeled beans ground to a paste, whipped with onion and pepper until light, then deep fried in spoonfuls until crisp outside and airy inside. Known as kosai in Hausa and akara in Yoruba and Igbo.
Key ingredients
- Peeled brown or black-eyed beans
- Onions
- Scotch bonnet pepper
- Salt
- Palm or vegetable oil for frying
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten hot with ogi or pap, with bread as a sandwich filling, or on its own as a snack.
Cultural significance
Akara is breakfast food sold at roadside stands from before dawn, usually beside pap or bread. It is also one of the clearest culinary traces of the Atlantic slave trade: acarajé, sold by Bahian women in Brazil, is the same dish carried across by Yoruba captives, and it retains a ritual role there. In parts of Nigeria akara is also prepared for funerals and remembrance rites.
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