Koose

Ingredients

Batter

• 500 gblack-eyed beans, soaked overnight
• 1onion
• 2cm fresh ginger
• 2scotch bonnets
• 1 tspsalt
• a little water

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

To serve

• Hausa koko
• sugar bread
• chilli powder

Directions

1. Soak the beans overnight, then rub them vigorously between your palms in plenty of water to loosen the skins.
2. Skim off the floating skins and change the water, repeating until the beans are clean and pale.
3. Peeling the beans is what makes koose light and pale. Skins left in give a grey, dense, slightly bitter fritter.
4. Drain them and blend with the onion, ginger and chillies, adding as little water as you can manage.
5. Use the minimum water. A wet batter spreads in the oil and gives flat, greasy fritters instead of round puffed ones.
6. The batter should be thick, smooth and hold its shape on a spoon.
7. Now beat it hard with a wooden spoon or a whisk for a full 5 minutes.
8. This beating is the step that matters most. It works air into the batter, and koose that has not been beaten sits heavy in the oil instead of puffing up light.
9. Test it by dropping a little into a cup of water: properly beaten batter floats.
10. Add the salt only just before frying.
11. Salt added early draws water out of the batter and slackens it.
12. Heat the oil to about 175°C (345°F).
13. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil, using two wet spoons, a few at a time.
14. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until deep golden brown and puffed.
15. Drain on a rack and serve hot.
16. They are eaten with Hausa koko, the spiced fermented millet porridge, which is the fixed morning pairing across Ghana.
17. Vendors sell both from the same stall before dawn, and asking for one usually gets you the other.

Technique

• Koose is the Ghanaian name; the same fritter is akara in Nigeria and acarajé in Brazil, carried there by enslaved West Africans.
• They are best within minutes of frying and go heavy as they cool.
• Some vendors add a little chilli powder over them at the point of sale.

Substitutions

• Ready-peeled black-eyed bean flour, which is sold and cuts out the soaking.
• Any small white bean, though black-eyed is what it is built on.

Variations

• Akara, the Nigerian version, often with more onion.
• With chopped onion and pepper visible through the batter.
• Split and filled with pepper sauce, as a sandwich.

History

Small, deep-fried fritters made from a paste of ground black-eyed pea, seasoned with onion and chili pepper, documented across Ghana as a popular street food and breakfast item, closely related to West African akara and similar bean fritters found under different names across the wider region, reflecting a shared culinary tradition tracing back through West African cooking eventually carried to Brazil through the transatlantic slave trade as acarajé. Its light, airy texture, achieved by whipping the ground bean paste thoroughly before frying to incorporate air, is considered essential to a well-made koose. Koose remains a popular breakfast food and snack across Ghana, commonly sold by street vendors alongside porridge.

Frequently asked questions

What is Koose?

Koose is a breakfast from Ghana: fried bean-flour fritters, morning partner to Hausa koko. Small, deep-fried fritters made from a paste of ground black-eyed pea, seasoned with onion and chili pepper, documented across Ghana as a popular street food and breakfast item, closely related to West African akara and similar bean fritters found under different names across the wider region, reflecting a shared culinary tradition tracing back through West African cooking eventually carried to Brazil through the transatlantic slave trade as acarajé. Its light, airy texture, achieved by whipping the ground bean paste thoroughly before frying to incorporate air, is considered essential to a well-made koose. Koose remains a popular breakfast food and snack across Ghana, commonly sold by street vendors alongside porridge.

How long does Koose take to make?

Koose takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Koose?

Yes, within limits. Ready-peeled black-eyed bean flour, which is sold and cuts out the soaking. Any small white bean, though black-eyed is what it is built on.

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

Use the minimum water. A wet batter spreads in the oil and gives flat, greasy fritters instead of round puffed ones.