Stuffed Akara – Plant Food Federation

There’s akara, and then there’s stuffed akara. First, let’s address akara, brown bean or black-eyed pea fritters. This is a popular food in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa. They also made their way to Brazil, specifically to the Salvador in Bahia, Brazil. Why? Because food travels when people travel and Salvador is documented to be point of entry to the ‘New World; where many of the slaves from West Africa were taken to first before being dispersed across the Americas. They took their food and culture with them and held on to what they could. Now, in Nigeria akara is eaten mostly for breakfast along with pap, corn meal porridge or with a stew. Some even create an akara burger by placing it between two slices of bread.

Akara is a street food and a joy to eat

To prepare akara, the beans are soaked, skins removed, then they are blended with spices and deep fried. It’s that simple really. In Nigeria, Lagos specifically you will find street sellers frying them by the side of the road early in the morning or carrying them around in glass boxes for sale.

Let’s have stuffed akara, shall we?

While there are a number of ways to eat akara, how about stuffing them? While Spring cleaning I came across my masa pan (aka ebelskiver pan) – masa is a fermented rice cake originating from Northern Nigeria, and trust I have not used this pan since I made the last batch of masa featured in my latest ebook, The Many Ways to Eat Rice. The thought crossed my mind, ‘why not use it to make stuffed akara?’ And, that’s all she wrote. I decided to stuff the akara with chopped mushrooms, walnuts and onions. To say these were divine, is an understatement.

Note for a traditional palm oil flavour, you should fry these in red unrefined palm oil. As with all other recipes on this platform you will find that this stuffed akara recipe is;