Accara

Ingredients

Batter

• 400 gblack-eyed peas, soaked overnight
• 1onion
• 1scotch bonnet
• 1 tspsalt
• a little water

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

Kaani sauce

• 4tomatoes
• 2onions
• 3scotch bonnets
• 3 tbspoil
• 1stock cube
• 1 tbsptomato paste
• salt

To serve

• in a split baguette, with kaani sauce
• or on their own, hot from the pan

Directions

1. Soak the beans overnight, which loosens the skins considerably. Repeat this several times with fresh water until the beans are clean and pale. It takes twenty minutes or so and there is no way around it if you want proper accara.
2. Blend the peeled beans with the onion and pepper and as little water as possible. Use the absolute minimum of water, since a wet batter spreads out in the oil and absorbs fat instead of holding its shape. Add water a tablespoon at a time only if the blender will not turn. Blend until completely smooth, which takes several minutes.
3. Beat the batter hard with a wooden spoon, a whisk or your hand for five to ten minutes. Drop a small spoonful of batter into a glass of water. If it floats, enough air has been beaten in and the batter is ready.
4. Add the salt only just before frying, and not during the beating. Salt added early draws water out of the batter and slackens it, which undoes the aeration you have just built. Heat the oil to about 175°C, with enough depth for the fritters to float freely. Test with a small spoonful, which should rise immediately and sizzle steadily.
5. Oil that is too cool gives greasy heavy fritters, and too hot browns them before the middle cooks. Now frying them in hot deep oil. Scoop the batter with a spoon or your wet hand and drop it gently into the oil. Do not crowd the pan, which drops the temperature sharply.
6. Fry for three to four minutes, turning them as they colour, until deep golden brown all over. They should puff up noticeably as they cook, which is the trapped air expanding.
7. Break one open before frying the rest: it should be light and open inside with no raw batter. Drain them on a rack rather than paper. Fry the onions until soft, add the blended tomato and pepper and the tomato paste, and cook it down for twenty minutes.
8. Cook it until it thickens and the oil separates, which takes the raw edge off. It should be genuinely hot, since that heat against the mild fritter is the whole point.

Technique

• The beans must be peeled or the fritters are grey and heavy.
• Beating air into the batter is what makes them light; the float test confirms it.
• Enslaved West Africans carried the dish to Bahia, where it became acarajé.

Substitutions

• Any black-eyed pea, and dried is what is used.
• A hot pepper sauce in place of homemade kaani.

Variations

• Acarajé, the Bahian version fried in dendê and split for fillings.
• Koose, the Ghanaian version, often spicier.
• Made with a little onion and chilli through the batter.

History

The same bean fritter as akara across West Africa; enslaved West Africans carried it to Bahia in Brazil, where it became acaraje.

Frequently asked questions

What is Accara?

Accara is a street food from Senegal: black-eyed-pea fritters with spicy kaani tomato sauce, often in baguette. The same bean fritter as akara across West Africa; enslaved West Africans carried it to Bahia in Brazil, where it became acaraje.

How long does Accara take to make?

Accara takes 40 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 24. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Accara?

Yes, within limits. Any black-eyed pea, and dried is what is used. A hot pepper sauce in place of homemade kaani.

What is the most important thing to get right in Accara?

Blend the peeled beans with the onion and pepper and as little water as possible. Use the absolute minimum of water, since a wet batter spreads out in the oil and absorbs fat instead of holding its shape. Add water a tablespoon at a time only if the blender will not turn. Blend until completely smooth, which takes several minutes.