Akara, as it’s called in Nigeria, or Koose in Ghana is a popular deep fried bean-based breakfast food made from black-eyed beans, red chillis and other ingredients. It’s usually eaten alongside a porridge such as Hausa Koko in Ghana.
As we know, black-eyed beans are super nutritious as they are high in fibre, protein, iron and many vitamins and minerals. Eating them for breakfast is a great way to increase energy for the day as they are also high in carbohydrates which provides slow-release energy.
Although akara/koose is super nutritious in itself, the deep fried nature of the dish increases its calorie content. This is why we decided to experiment with a baked version which is lower in oil.
Baked Akara/Koose
Ingredients
- 350 g raw black eyed peas
- 1 onion
- 0.5 cup water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 scotch bonnet chilli
- 2 spring onion
Instructions
- Remove the skins from your beans.
- Add beans to a blender with chopped onion, scotch bonnet and 0.5 cups water. Blend until smooth.
- Add the mixture to a bowl and stir in chopped spring onions.
- Line the holes of a baking tray with oil.
- Pour your mixture to each hole of your tray.
- Preheat your oven to 180*C fan.
- Place your tray in the oven to bake for 20 minutes until cooked through.
Nutrition
Calories: 58kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 3gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 701mgPotassium: 123mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 39IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
