The lovely Nma of Nigerian Lazy Chef sent me a picture of her akara crepes and I really loved it. She inspired me to step up my akara game. Thanks Nma!
Akara Pancakes happened for me as an accidental discovery about 3-4 years ago when I was actively blogging on my blogspot platform. fast foward to early 2013 when I recreated the recipe and shared it on the 9jaFOODie Instagram page. This lead to a literal food revolution as the akara recipe was recreated hundreds of times within a span of 3 days , the term #Pankara was coined and it has since described pan fried akara or akara pancakes.
I am calling these renditions powered up akara. If you love breakfast pancakes, you will love these. All you are doing is ditching the flour for a much healthier and nutritious alternative – Gluten free anyone? . Recipe as is will provide approximately 27g Fiber, 30g protein and 64g carbohydrate. How is that for a power breakfast?. I used unpeeled beans in order to keep the fiber content up. I now use unpeeled beans for all my recipes Including traditional Akara , Moimoi & gbegiri soup. Do try it and share photos on instagram by tagging #PupAkara.
- 2/3 cup Beans (black eye or brown beans)
- 1 large egg
- Pepper – to taste
- 1 maggi Cube
- Salt – to taste
- 1 tbspn Vegetable or coconut oil
- 1/2 medium tomato – chopped
- 1 cup green vegetable – Chopped
- cover unpeeled beans with generous amount of boiled water, place a lid over it and allow to soften for 10 minutes . Rinse and drain
- Combine chopped vegetable, onions and tomatoes with some salt and pepper. set aside
- Combine beans with 1 cup water and blend until smooth. Add in egg, pepper, maggi and salt. Blend again until well incorporated. Divide batter into two
- [url href=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/?attachment_id=7481″][img src=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DSC08726_.jpg” width=”500″ height=”332″ class=”aligncenter size-full” title=”DSC08726_”][/url]
- set a large non stick pan on medium-high heat, heat up 1/2 of the oil. add in pureed beans, allow to cover the bottom of the pan. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes or until you see bubbles at the top
- [url href=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/?attachment_id=7482″][img src=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DSC08735_.jpg” width=”500″ height=”332″ class=”aligncenter size-full” title=”DSC08735_”][/url]
- [url href=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/?attachment_id=7483″][img src=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DSC08760_.jpg” width=”500″ height=”332″ class=”aligncenter size-full” title=”DSC08760_”][/url]
- Top half of the akara with half vegetable mix. Gently fold the remaining half over the filling and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Repeat last two steps with other half of the ingredients
- [url href=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/?attachment_id=7484″][img src=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DSC08761_.jpg” width=”500″ height=”332″ class=”aligncenter size-full” title=”DSC08761_”][/url]
- [url href=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/?attachment_id=7486″][img src=”https://www.9jafoodie.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DSC08771_-600×398.jpg” width=”600″ height=”398″ class=”aligncenter size-medium” title=”DSC08771_”][/url]
Recipe Note:
- The batter consistency for the filled akara should be on the fluid side (a cross between crepe and pancake batter).
- Do not add too much batter to the pan at once. The recipe can make up to 5 flat circles depending on the size of your pan
- Be sure to distribute the batter evenly in the pan so as to avoid pulling on one side or in the middle. Pick up the pan and give it a quick swirl
- For taco style filling; allow the akara to cool slightly before attempting the wrap. Overly warm akara will break.
Recipe Variation
The Green Beast Akara
Not a fan of raw vegetables? puree 2-3 handfuls of Ugu, spinach or efo Tete with the akara mixture. Cook using the Pan Fried Akara method
End result:
 The Sweet and Savory Akara
This version incorporates chopped vegetables, more hot pepper and sweet corn to create the perfect textured akara.
- Add 1/4 cup corn and 1/4 cup chopped peppers into the batter. Cook using the Pan Fried Akara Method .
This is an amazing gluten free alternative. No more bread ooo, wen u have powered up akara!!
I will try mine with mixing some chia seeds. I use this in my crepe recipes and acts as a binder just like eggs, but more nutrition and fiber.
Thank you,
Sola
Great idea using chia!!
This is definitely a MUST-TRY for my weight warriors.
9ja foodie u don lost ur damn mind but I’m loving it!
lol
ronke am forced to comment on this one observing all ur recipe u realy are a special wife whose family health is paramount. and u go d extra mile to share ur secrets. u are specially gifted with some rare african talent and am loving it cos i love to xperiment with food too. thumbs up on all ur creative work. i hope we can work together some day. good work managing d kitchen and d tummy infact u are an inspiration. maam u too much jooor lol
Thank you so very much, this is very thoughtful of you
I love it. Absolutely
:)
This is a fantastic idea.
Do try it out :)
This is quite adventurous. Thank you for sharing.
Wow… I just really like this! I should try mine o…
Waoh dis is just too nice,i am definitely goin to try it soon,u r doin a grt job,kip it up
Thank you!!
Do let me know how it goes
Ronke, girl can I move over to your place? You make the most healthy, sumptuous recipes and are so creative with it. I seriously need to just pick one and make … Definitely next month. Thanks for sharing.
Please move in!! I am sure we will have so much fun creating fun meals together.
O my goodness I am seriously loving this….inspiration overdrive. Thank you
Thanks!! do try some
Brilliant, Just brilliant. This is the height of creativity ronke, I have followed your work for a while and I love how you differentiate yourself. Please keep it up, we are cheering you on big time.
Thank you!!