Beignets haricots bouillie

Name: Beignets haricots bouillie
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 500 g plain flour; 7 g dried yeast; 60 g sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 350 ml warm water; oil, for deep frying; 400 g dried red or white beans, soaked; 2 onions, chopped; 4 garlic cloves, chopped; 3 tomatoes, blended; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 100 ml red palm oil; 1 stock cube; 1 chilli, whole; salt to taste; 150 g fine maize flour; 1.5 litres water; 100 g sugar, or to taste; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; a pinch of salt; evaporated milk, optional

Fried dough balls with stewed beans and hot maize porridge, the office breakfast

Makes 6 servings

Units

Ingredients

Beignets

500 gplain flour
7 gdried yeast
60 gsugar
1 teaspoonsalt
350 mlwarm water
oil, for deep frying

Haricots

400 gdried red or white beans, soaked
2onions, chopped
4garlic cloves, chopped
3tomatoes, blended
2 tablespoonstomato paste
100 mlred palm oil
1stock cube
1chilli, whole
salt to taste

Bouillie

150 gfine maize flour
1.5 litreswater
100 gsugar, or to taste
1 teaspoonground nutmeg
a pinch of salt
evaporated milk, optional

Directions

Soak the dried beans overnight in cold water. Drain and rinse them in the morning. Put them in a pot of fresh water. Bring them to a hard boil for ten minutes. Boiling hard for ten minutes destroys the lectin.
Top up with hot water as needed. Drain them, keeping some of the cooking liquid. Heat the palm oil in a large pot. Warm it gently rather than fiercely. Fry the chopped onions for about eight minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the tomato paste and fry it for two minutes. Pour in the blended fresh tomato.
Cook it down for about ten minutes. The oil should separate at the edges. Add the cooked beans and stir them through. Add the stock cube and the whole chilli. Add bean liquid until it is loose but not soupy. Simmer it for about twenty minutes. Mash some of the beans against the side of the pot. Taste it and adjust the salt again. Warm the water until it is lukewarm.
Stir the yeast and a spoonful of sugar into it. Leave it ten minutes until it froths. Put the flour, remaining sugar and salt in a bowl. Pour in all of the yeasted water.
Beat it hard with a wooden spoon for three minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky. Cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place. Let it rise for about an hour until doubled. It should be completely full of bubbles. Whisk the maize flour into cold water. Work it into a completely smooth slurry. Starting cold is what prevents lumps.
Bring the rest of the water to the boil. Pour in the slurry while whisking hard. Cook it for about fifteen minutes. It should be thin enough to drink from a cup. Add the sugar, nutmeg and salt. Stir in evaporated milk if you want it richer. Taste it and adjust the sweetness.
Pour oil into a deep pot to about eight centimetres. Never fill a pot more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil up to about 175C. Wet your hand and scoop up a piece of dough. Squeeze it out between thumb and forefinger. Drop it straight into the hot oil. Alternatively use two wet spoons.
Fry six or seven of them at a time. Turn them over as they colour. Fry them for about four minutes until deep golden. Break one open to check the first batch. The inside should be light and cooked through.
Lift them onto a wire rack to drain. Serving it is done all together and hot. Pile the beignets into a bowl or a paper bag. Ladle the beans into a separate bowl. Pour the bouillie into a cup or a glass. Tear a beignet and dip it into the beans. The beans keep three days refrigerated. Fry the beignets fresh each time.

Technique

The three-part breakfast is universally known in Cameroon by its initials and is sold from dawn stalls in every city.
The combination of savoury beans, sweet fried dough and sweet porridge is deliberate rather than accidental.

Substitutions

Tinned beans skip the soaking and boiling entirely.
Any neutral oil replaces palm oil, though the colour and flavour change considerably.

Variations

Some stalls sell the beignets on their own with tea.
A version of the bouillie made with millet flour is also common.
Puff-puff and akara are the related fried snacks across West Africa.

History

Known nationwide by its initials, the fritter, bean and porridge trio is Cameroon’s standard street breakfast sold from dawn stalls.

Frequently asked questions

What is Beignets haricots bouillie?

Beignets haricots bouillie is a breakfast from Cameroon: fried dough balls with stewed beans and hot maize porridge, the office breakfast. Known nationwide by its initials, the fritter, bean and porridge trio is Cameroon’s standard street breakfast sold from dawn stalls.

How long does Beignets haricots bouillie take to make?

Beignets haricots bouillie takes 30 minutes plus soaking and rising of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Beignets haricots bouillie?

Yes, within limits. Tinned beans skip the soaking and boiling entirely. Any neutral oil replaces palm oil, though the colour and flavour change considerably.

What is the most important thing to get right in Beignets haricots bouillie?

Top up with hot water as needed. Drain them, keeping some of the cooking liquid. Heat the palm oil in a large pot. Warm it gently rather than fiercely. Fry the chopped onions for about eight minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the tomato paste and fry it for two minutes. Pour in the blended fresh tomato.