Special contest for steem Africa #2|| promote your favourite Traditional dessert.

Thank you @alikoc07 @steemitfoods and @ngoenyi for this wonderful contest to show our traditional desserts. It reminds us of our cultural heritage even while we try to imitate the western world.

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Growing up as a young girl in the southern part of Nigeria, Akara was a go-to meal for Saturday mornings. I can count on my fingers how many times I didn’t eat Akara every Saturday morning. The beauty of this dessert is that it can be eaten with different combinations such as pap, custard, bread (as burger), oatmeal, or soy sauce.

Akara which is also called 'Kosai' in Hausa and 'Acaraje' in Portuguese is made from cowpeas or black-eyed peas. It is said that the dessert originated from the Yorubas and was passed down to other regions in the country and Africa at large.

Health benefits of Akara

• Reduces stroke

• Prevents cancer

• Acts as antioxidants

• Reduces heart diseases

For the purpose of this contest, I made Akara and also a combination to go with it.

Ingredients for Akara

• Beans flour -75g

• Fresh pepper -20g

• Onion -1 small

• Groundnut oil

• Salt

• Seasoning cube

Procedures

Take the bean flour and pour into a bowl.

Blend the pepper and onion

Thereafter, add blended mixture into the bowl containing bean flour and add a little water. Ensure to be careful while adding water so the mixture doesn’t become too light.

Slice some onion and pour into the bowl, add more water and stir continuously.

Stir until it doesn’t look seedy and is now very creamy.

I added some dried pepper because the fresh pepper I used wasn’t so hot.

Add seasoning cubes and salt to taste

Stir and mix properly

Leave for 30-40mins so the mixture can marinate.

Heat oil on fire in a deep-frying pan at low temperature

Scoop the mixture into the frying pan and arrange it properly

Turn to the other side once it is golden brown

Allow the entire Akara ball to turn golden brown before removing it from the fire and Akara is ready to be eaten.

For combination, I made custard.

Ingredients for custard

• Custard powder -75g

• Sugar -5cubes

• Milk

• Hot water

Procedure

Turn the desired amount of custard into a plate

Add sugar

Add some water and stir until properly mixed.

Pour boiling hot water into the mixture and stir until thick.

Add milk and your custard is ready to eat.

This is my traditional dessert with its perfect combination and it takes about 90minutes to finish it.

Fun fact: It is often said that Akara and custard make people add weight because they tend to sleep off after the meal, I don’t know how true that is though. It is best served hot.

I hope you try this out sometime, thank you for reading.