Health Benefits of Bean Cake

• It helps balance blood sugar. Beans contain a beautiful blend of complex carbohydrates and protein
• It is rich in nutrients.
• It reduces the risk of cancer.

We have the ones fried with vegetable oil, the ones with Palm oil, and also a special one called Akara kengbe' fried with Palm oil. Akara goes with almost everything. You can eat it with bread, yam, pap, and custard. It can also serve as a snack or even a light dinner. It is rich in protein.

Course: Snack Cuisine

Nigerian, African Keyword: Homemade, Quick

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:15 minutes

Servings: 12 balls

Calories: 138kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup black-eyed beans or brown beans
• 2 scotch bonnet/ habanero
• 1 Bell pepper (optional)
• 1 Brown or red onion
• Vegetable, sunflower, or palm oil for frying
• 1 Maggi (bouillon) cube
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Peel the beans. The easiest way of doing this is by using a blender.
2. Blend the peeled beans with the scotch bonnet, bell pepper, and onion. It's important you do not add too much water to blend as what you want is a thick paste for the Akara so blend with as little water as possible.
3. Pour the blended beans into a bowl, add Maggi cube and salt to taste, and mix thoroughly.
4. If you like the inside of your Akara fluffy, then use a mixer and whip for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the vegetable oil, sunflower, or palm oil into a frying pan and put on a burner. You need it deep-fried so make sure you have enough oil in the frying pan.
6. When the oil is heated start scooping in the bean paste. For this, I recommend you use a tablespoon.
7. To know if your oil is heated enough drop a tiny bit of the paste in the oil. If it floats to the top, then the oil is ready.
8. When a side is done, flip to the other side.
9. Fry both sides till it's brown and when done remove from oil and put on a paper towel to get rid of excess oil.
10. Serve with pap (ogi) or custard. It can also be eaten with bread.
11. Soak peeled beans in water for up to 6 hours before blending. This makes blending easier plus it gives fluffier akara.

Notes

1. Blend with little water. If using a home blender, put onion and peppers at the bottom of the blender before adding beans. That way they blend first and provide more juice for the beans to blend in without the use of excess water.
2. For the fluffy inside, mix the bean paste with a hand or stand mixer till it's light and fluffy before frying.

WHY IS MY AKARA FLAT

If the batter is too watery, the akara will come out flat and sometimes not hold up in oil. That's why it's important to blend with as little water as possible.

HOW TO STORE

1. To store leftovers, allow cooling completely then put them in Ziploc, label them, and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
2. To reheat, microwave on high for 30 seconds or 1 minute if from the fridge. Frozen will take a few minutes longer.

You can check out more snack recipes here