How to Fry Akara (Beans Cake)

Akara (Bean Cake)
INGREDIENTS

1) 1 cup/250g of blackeyed beans
2) Salt

3) 2 fresh peppers/chilies (optional)
4) 1 onion
5) 1 litre vegetable oil
6) 200g cooked meat balls (optional)

What you do
Soak the beans in a large container (some people recommend lightly grounding the beans first to make it easier to remove the skin) for about an hour or so.

Rub the beans between your hands to peel the skin off. (The skin should float to the top of the container.) Keep doing this until you have all of the skin off the beans.

Grind the beans into a smooth, thick, ground paste. Pour into a wide or mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon, stir paste in one direction only for 5 - 10minutes. This is to trap as much air into the paste as possible.
Add salt, pepper, and if you desire, also add meat.
Pour the vegetable oil into a pan, add more oil if necessary (as too little will result in flatter balls) and place on medium heat.
Test to make sure the oil is hot enough by putting a drop of batter into the oil, and making sure the oil is frying the drop.
Using a spoon, pour balls of the mixture into the frying oil. Fry until it is dark brown (or lighter if you prefer). Turn over and make sure both sides are fried.
You can place it directly into a napkin to soak up excess oil.
Usually eaten as a snack, or at breakfast with ogi (pap) or custard.