Foodies 001: The bean and its cake

Bean cake, also known as bean fritter is traditionally known as 'Akara' among the Yorubas - one of the numerous ethnic groups found in Southwestern Nigeria and some other parts of the world. Bean cake is made from beans/cowpea seeds, a plant scientifically known as Vigna unguiculata. The plant itself is an annual creeping plant in the legume family.

The bean seed is rich in protein. In actual fact, it has the highest protein content of all the plant-based foods that naturally exist. In addition, beans consist of carbohydrates, vitamins, fiber, and a host of other nutrients that makes it one of the most wholesome meals one can prepare.

Bean seeds are either cooked and consumed as it is or utilized in the making of other foods, out of which the bean cake is one.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of beans (might vary according to the quantity of akara to be made)
• 2 small to medium size onions
• peppers
• Ginger and garlic (optional)
• groundnut oil
• seasoning
• salt

How to prepare

Peeling off of bean chaff
A little water is added to the beans in a bowl and allowed to soak for a few minutes. Thereafter, the outer chaff of the beans is removed by continuously squeezing the grains of the beans through the two palms. More water is added into the mixture, mixed vigorously for the peeled chaff to float on the water, and then sieved using a suitable kitchen filter. Some people prefer to prepare their akara without removing the outer coverings of the bean seeds while some have other short-cut means of removing the coverings.

^{Before peeling}

^{After peeling}

Blending
The 2 onions are peeled, cut into pieces, and added to the peeled beans. The ginger and garlic are also added at this junction if available and desired. A commensurate or desired quantity of fresh pepper (chili and Scotch bonnet) is added to the beans and the entire content blended together with a little quantity of water in a blender until a smooth paste results.

^{Before blending the components}

^{Result of the blending of the peeled beans, onions, and pepper.}

Frying
The paste can be deep or shallow fried after the addition of seasoning and thorough mixing. The frying is done in small scoops so as to arrive at small balls as the final product. A suitable amount of groundnut oil is poured into a dry frying pan and placed on a burner. The oil is allowed to get hot and scoops of the smooth paste are carefully transferred into the hot oil to avoid splashing. The scoops are allowed to fry in the oil for a few minutes using low to medium heat. Thereafter, the balls are turned to the other side to enable uniform frying, especially if the shallow frying method is used.

^{Before turning}

^{After turning}

^{The final product. Food is ready}

How is bean cake eaten?

The bean cake is either eaten as they are or with another food. It can be eating with corn starch (aka, pap), bread, oat, and a variety of many other foods.

Note: Some people prefer to use red oil in the place of the groundnut oil. The procedure is more or less the same except that the latter is replaced by the former.