How to make akara (bean cakes) with bean flour

Akara is traditionally made by soaking brown beans overnight, rubbing off the skins by hand, then grinding the peeled beans into a paste — a process that can take the better part of a day before the beans even reach the batter stage. Flozy bean flour is already peeled and milled, so you skip straight to the part that matters: whisking a smooth batter and frying it golden.

Ingredients

• 2 cups Flozy peeled bean flour
• 1½–2 cups water, added gradually
• 1 small onion, finely chopped (plus a little extra, blended, for the batter)
• 1–2 scotch bonnet peppers (ata rodo), finely chopped or blended, to taste
• 1 tsp ground crayfish (optional, traditional)
• Salt, to taste
• Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method

1. In a large bowl, add the bean flour and pour in the water a little at a time, whisking constantly. Whisk in one direction — this is what a fresh bean paste would normally get from hand-grinding, and it's what makes the batter light and airy. Keep going until you have a smooth, lump-free batter about the thickness of a thick pancake batter.
2. Let the batter rest for 5 minutes so the flour fully hydrates. If it thickens too much, whisk in a splash more water.
3. Fold in the chopped onion, pepper, crayfish and salt. Give it one more good whisk — the more air you beat in, the fluffier the akara.
4. Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a deep pot or wok over medium heat until hot (170–180°C). Test with a small spoonful of batter — it should sizzle and float to the top within a few seconds.
5. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions of batter into the hot oil, working in batches so you don't crowd the pot.
6. Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep golden brown on both sides and cooked through in the middle.
7. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot, on its own or with pap, bread, or ogi.

Tips for the best akara

• Add water gradually. Bean flour absorbs differently from freshly ground bean paste, so it's easier to loosen a thick batter than to fix one that's gone too thin.
• Whisk hard, and whisk right before frying — the air you beat in is what makes akara puff up instead of frying flat and dense.
• Keep the oil temperature steady. Too cool and the akara soaks up oil and turns greasy; too hot and the outside burns before the inside cooks.
• Fry in small batches so each piece has room to puff and turn evenly golden.

Looking for the other half of the classic pairing? Try our moin moin recipe with the same bag of flour, or read the bean flour guide to see why peeled bean flour is worth keeping in the pantry.