Zuhra opened her home to me May 2019 to share a typical Nigerian iftar. She taught me how to make these Kosai (Bean Fritters) to accompany the spicy and delicious Pepper Soup.
CourseSide Dish
CuisineIftar, NIgerian
KeywordIftar
Servings10servings
AuthorZuhra
Ingredients
1lb dried black-eyed peas
1med-large onion, peeled and quartered
1red peppers, seeded ad quartered
3garlic cloves, peeled
1tspworth chunk of fresh ginger
1habanero peppers w/ seedsremove seeds for less heat
2cupsolive oil for deep fryingdepends on your pan
1.5tspsalt
Instructions
Place the dried beans in a food processor or blender. Pulse very briefly to help separate the skins. You do not want to get it to a powder! Just broken a bit.
Place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water, allowing them to soak in preparation for removing skins. Meanwhile, wash, and quarter veggies, and set aside.
When veggies are prepared, take your first round of rubbing the beans between your hands , back and forth, in small batches. When you begin to see a lot of skins, pour the water off, catching the skins for the compost (lest you clog your drain), and repeat the soak and rub a few more times. You want most of the black to be gone.
Once beans are ready, working in batches, add mixed handfuls of the veggies and beans to the food processor adding a very small amount of water only to help combine, if needed. When combined, blend on high to whip in some air (the fritters should be fluffy).
To fry, get a heavy bottom pan and fill it with enough olive oil so that a tablespoon amount of batter would be submerged. Heat it on medium high until it is very hot. When hot, drop small tablespoon-sized amounts of batter into the oil and allow to cook. When beginning to brown (about a minute), use a slotted spoon to flip them to brown the other side. When fully browned, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and allow to cool on a paper towel-lined plate.
Serve with pepper soup or ??. Batter can be kept for the next day but take care to whip air back into to make them fluffy when fried.
Notes
* Pulse the beans first so that the blender is dry. Then use the blender for mixing the peppersoup and kosai.