This happened yesterday and tot i should share. I had woken up with my day all planned. My family will go to church and i'll treat them to a rare dish: akara and plaintain with pap. While most of us will wonder how in d world is that food rare, well, in my family it is cos most mornings, we just eat bread and secondly, i have no idea of how to make akara. So, i started by washing the skins off my brown beans, grinded it and proceeded to turn it in d pestle(stil can't figure out y this is done). At that moment, i had a brilliant idea, since the bean balls rises on frying, i can aid in this simple process by adding baking powder, after all, everyone knows dt baking powder makes things bigger, and so i added the baking powder, and other ingredients. I was feeling pretty good with myself and had imagined my family at the dining table admiring my big, beautiful brown akaras. That thought was shattered when i started frying the bean cakes, all i can think of while staring at my pot of oil was that the law of diffusion was surely taking place here. The bean had scattered in d oil down to its last molecule and worse refused to turn brown. I refused to believe what i was seeing, and blaming it on the pot i had used, changed to a frying pan and the same thing happened. My husband on passing through the kitchen stopped for some seconds to stare into the frying pan and kept walking without uttering a word. I never attempted to fry anymore after that. I must confess that i forced my kids to eat the disaster i created because though it looks nothing like akara, it sure taste like it. I had called it scrambled beans, a delight known in asian countries and just like that, ordered them to start eating. A part of me felt bad but hey, i watch FOOD NETWORK and people invent new dishes there on an hourly basis. This is my new dish, my creative idea, and though whipped up by accident, is perfect when put inbetween two slices of bread and eaten with a hot tea. That my friends, is how u deal with a cooking disaster( PS: My husband refused to eat my creative genius, MEN!!)

Lady Dat aint no creative genius. Didnt ur mama teach u how 2 cook? Even i cook up akara with my eyes wide shut. You better make amends to your hubby's tummy by preparing it the right way. Hope he didnt starve himself yesterday morning

Pray, pls tell me how to prepare one then. What type of beans should one use? Don't hesitate to share all u know and while u are at it, i wld like to know how u can make one wit ur eyes wide shut.

shouldnt you have emptied the whole thing into the garbage, no offence.

to fry akara, you peel the beans first, then grind in a blender, not a pestle.

do not add baking powder, as far as i know.

when frying the akara, let each one sit for a few minutes or until it floats up, before turning. Dont turn until the opposite side is brown.

if you're nigerian you must have seen how those ladies prepare it for sale nah.

i did have the same problem when i first started making akara though.

the akaras were very flat like pancakes and scattered all over the pan.

not too edible.

Kaaaaaiiiii, baking soda ? Chineke ---

Lady Winona:

This happened yesterday and tot i should share. I had woken up with my day all planned. My family will go to church and i'll treat them to a rare dish: akara and plaintain with pap. While most of us will wonder how in d world is that food rare, well, in my family it is cos most mornings, we just eat bread and secondly, i have no idea of how to make akara. So, i started by washing the skins off my brown beans, grinded it and proceeded to turn it in d pestle(stil can't figure out y this is done). At that moment, i had a brilliant idea, since the bean balls rises on frying, i can aid in this simple process by adding baking powder, after all, everyone knows dt baking powder makes things bigger, and so i added the baking powder, and other ingredients. I was feeling pretty good with myself and had imagined my family at the dining table admiring my big, beautiful brown akaras. That thought was shattered when i started frying the bean cakes, all i can think of while staring at my pot of oil was that the law of diffusion was surely taking place here. The bean had scattered in d oil down to its last molecule and worse refused to turn brown. I refused to believe what i was seeing, and blaming it on the pot i had used, changed to a frying pan and the same thing happened. My husband on passing through the kitchen stopped for some seconds to stare into the frying pan and kept walking without uttering a word. I never attempted to fry anymore after that. I must confess that i forced my kids to eat the disaster i created because though it looks nothing like akara, it sure taste like it. I had called it scrambled beans, a delight known in asian countries and just like that, ordered them to start eating. A part of me felt bad but hey, i watch FOOD NETWORK and people invent new dishes there on an hourly basis. This is my new dish, my creative idea, and though whipped up by accident, is perfect when put inbetween two slices of bread and eaten with a hot tea. That my friends, is how u deal with a cooking disaster( PS: My husband refused to eat my creative genius, MEN!!)

ROTFLMAO

Next time you might want to try a sample first before making a mess of your whole meal!

This is so funny. Poor children! Na wa!

That was a disaster fullstop. You should have just consulted people about a recipe you're not sure of. It (akara) doesn't always come out first time but with constant practice, you'll become a pro.

Guys, u all shld try to find the humor in my post. As 4 akara recipe, i am going to tackle this and talk to people arnd me to avoid this next time

//

Nothing creative about this --- haha!

@tpiah you missed the first step which is soaking it in water for a few minutes before you scrub through with your hands as if you are washing. Then you remove the floating peels wit a sieve to filter out the peeled brown skin. Then you blend it while adding onions and pepper and also keepin in mind that you add little quantity of water while blending so the akara does not scatter during frying as the water content determines if you want to prepare akara or moi-moi. After blending mix thoroughly while adding seasonings of your choice ( salt inclusive ).
Ps: you can use brown or white beans depending on your choice but dont use sweet beans as it takes away the natural akara flavor due to its sweetness.
@OP take note of its preparation and add others tpiah scribbled down, You can thank my Mama

Really can't believe this is all there is to making akara. What about the part where after grinding d beans, u turn in a mortar for a while before frying to allow air in it?

The part where you turn the blended bean paste into a mortar to let air seep through is not the real reason for doing so as the presence of air is not necessary. The true reason why its left for a while is to let the oil in the frying pan get hot ( close to being smoky-hot but not totally smoky ) and also for the various seasoning that you will add at that point in time while stirring to be thoroughly absorbed by the blended bean paste so some parts of the akara wont taste either too salty or be pepperish than other parts

^^true that.




the paste can be turned in any big bowl, not only a mortar.

just use a stirring spoon or orogun.

Gej govt should do something about the state of finance in ng.some people cannot laugh no matter what.