Akara, with Bean Flour

And also with gram/ besan/ lentil flours or powders. Think of it this time as using flours of convenience, whatever they bean :).

I first used these flours when I lived abroad, several moons ago and found it tricky sometimes to get black-eyed beans or didn’t want to expend the energy required to peel them. The flours work well, they approximate the deliciousness I’m familiar with from bean puree akara. Necessity, ehn?

Prep time: 1 hr
Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• Fresh chili pepper (optional)
• 150g bean, gram, lentil flour
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
• 1 teaspoon dry roasted and lightly crushed cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• Oil , for deep frying

Tips – test the fritters. I like to fry a few test fritters to check consistency and seasoning. If all’s well, I continue, if not, I adjust doing what’s needed

Directions

• Blend onions and chilli pepper with 1/4 cup of water till smooth
• With a whisk, mix in the flour to make a thick paste. You can stop here and fry but I like to do a bit more
• Add the chopped cilantro and crushed cumin seeds to the mix. Stir well to combine.

• Season with some salt. For this recipe, I used 1/2 a teaspoon but adjust to your taste.
• Heat up some vegetable oil in a pot – I like mine to come up to 3 inches. When oil is hot, scoop up some batter, using a tablespoon for large fritters or a teaspoon for smaller one. Gently lower the fritter batter into the hot oil, and continue till the pan is full.
• When the bottom of the fritters are brown, 2-3 minutes, turn over and let the other side brown.

• Once both sides are brown, remove with a slotted spoon and let drain in a sieve or on kitchen paper
• The insides will be soft and creamy. I like mine to rest a touch before I bite in – that way, it’s cooled down and firmed up a touch