Akara. Fried Bean Fritters (for meat lovers)
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Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups of Nigerian brown or Oloyin (honey) beans
  • One small onion (divided – chop half and set aside)
  • 2 small garlic cloves
  • ½ inch of ginger (grated)
  • 1 habanero pepper or ata-rodo
  • A little less than ⅓ cup of parsley (finely chopped)(A handful works)(optional)(You could try scent leaves or basil)
  • 1 cup corned beef
  • 1 tbsp of crayfish
  • •Bouillon cube or salt
  • •1 egg
  • •1 tbsp of dry grounded pepper
  • •Oil for deep frying
Instructions
  1. Soak beans for about 10 minutes or overnight and wash either by pulsing in a blender or rubbing the beans against both palms and draining out the skin. To pulse in the blender, simply pour the raw beans into a blender, add some water and pulse a few times to break it up. Pour the broken beans in a bowl and rub between your palms to remove the skin. Pour in some more water and the skins would float to the top. Pour the skins out and repeat the rubbing and draining process until the beans are free of the skins. If you are washing without pulsing, simply soak and rub the skin between your palms, top up with water and discard the skins as they float to the top.
  2. These days, you do not have to wash the beans. You can just soak and blend it until smooth using red or brown beans. Most nutrients are in the skin anyway.
  3. After washing the beans, blend it with the garlic, habanero, crayfish and bouillon until smooth. To achieve fluffy fritters like mine, you have to be careful when adding water to the batter.
  4. After blending, stir the fritters batter with a whisk or mixer to incorporate some air into the batter while adding the chopped onion, chopped parsley, ginger, egg and corned beef.
  5. Heat up a deep frying pan or deep fryer with enough oil for deep frying. When the oil is hot enough, using a tablespoon or scoop, scoop the fritters batter in little increments into the oil to fry and form balls. Fry each ball until golden brown and with a slotted spoon, scoop out the cooked balls and drain on a paper towel to remove the excess oil. Repeat the process until the batter is used up.
  6. To retain the fluffiness of the fritters, make sure to thoroughly beat the remaining batter with a whisk or mixer for a few minutes in between frying.
Recipe by Nigerian Lazy Chef at https://www.nigerianlazychef.com/2015/10/corned-beef-and-herbed-akara-fried-bean-fritters/