It is time to introduce you to one of my favourite ever Sierra Leonean recipes for breakfast.
Akara to me or banana fritters to you. They are like nutmegy banana pancake balls – but so much better. Especially when served with sweet oniony Sierra Leone gravy and ice-cold ginger beer.
This akara recipe brings back fond memories of the foodie arguments I have my with mum. She could never understand why all I wanted for breakfast, when I went back home, was things like akara and fried plantains. She wanted to serve up special chicken and chips etc. You know the foods special to Sierra Leoneans living in Sierra Leone. Whilst all I wanted was the food special to Sierra Leoneans living abroad. Aka their everyday salone food. I know I will have the exact same conversation next time I visit.
As long as you have the overripe bananas and rice flour ready you can whip up your akara pretty easily. The test is whether you can avoid eating them straight out of the pot. My youngest and I have zero self control when it comes to these. How did I even manage to photograph this batch?
So here is my super easy akara recipe and please do let me know what variations you have in your banana fritters recipes.
Also if you do like fritters then why not try these Corn Fritters from Little Sunny Kitchen. They look sooooooo lush.
Don't forget to tag #recipesfromapantry on Instagram or Twitter if you try Akara aka Banana Fritters - Sierra Leone Flavours! It is really, really awesome for me when you make one of my recipes and I'd love to see it. You can also share it on my Facebook page. Please pin this recipe to Pinterest too! Thank you for reading Recipes from a Pantry.
Akara aka Banana Fritters - Sierra Leone Flavours
Ingredients
- 4 medium overripe bananas
- 160 g (5.6oz) rice flour
- 1 heaped tsp baking powder
- 1/2-1 tsp grated nutmeg
- A pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2-4 tbsp water
- Oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Peel the bananas, add them to a blender and whizz until pureed.
- Transfer the pureed banana to a bowl and mix in all the ingredients plus 2 tbsp of water.
- The batter should have a drop-like consistency but if not then mix in the other 2 tbsp of water.
- Heat the oil over medium a medium flame and drop tablespoons full of the batter into the oil.
- Cook the akara for 1min then turn round and cook on the other side for another min until golden brown.
- Remove the akara and drain them on paper kitchen towels.
- Continue until all the batter is done.
- Serve with some gravy or sweet chilli sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Sierra Leone flavours – is the spot on my blog where I share both traditional Sierra Leonean recipes and West African fusion recipes.
In Sierra Leone, banana akaras are a popular breakfast food. These fritters have a banana-like flavor and texture, and they are light and gluten-free.
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I hope these taste like Grandma used to make! I look forward to trying to get it as good as hers. I really miss akara.
Wow – these look absolutely divine!
oh my these sound so yummy will definitely have to try these
Oh they look really crisp, sometimes mine come out a bit soggy, so I will definitely be trying this recipe! Ty
I’m so intrigued by these – they sound sweet, but you say to serve them with gravy! Probably one of those things that makes complete sense when it’s there in front of you 🙂
Aww, Bintu! This always bring childhood memories… Just like you , I Love Love Banana fritters aka “accra banana”.I have made several versions of it using , whole wheat , corn flour, cassava and plantains – Can’t seem to get enough it! Yours look really delicious- Yum!
Yum, I love your series on Salone food. This looks incredibly delicious, I’m going to try and make them, maybe with rice pap. Do you have a recipe for rice pap? The one with tiny rice balls and flavoured with lime/lemon?
I don’t have a recipe for pap yest. I keep meaning to do one. I will let you know if I have one.
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, i was wondering if you could one day maybe post a video on how to make the Akara, as I have been trying various recipes but I always seem to make the Akara too soft
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe, i was wondering if you could one day maybe post a video on how to make the Akara, as I have been trying various recipes but I always seem to make the Akara too soft .
Interesting, we have akara but what we call akara are beans fritters. Love learning about other cultures and interesting to see the similarities. I can’t remember what we call banana fritters though.
We call those fritters binch akara.