ZLounge: Nouvelle Caribbean Cuisine

How do you make your sugar cake?

Today I learned about a Nigerian dish called "Akara". When I Googled it I found that it's almost the exact same food we call "Acra" (and a similar one we call "bakes") in Dominica. As I did more research, I learned that Akara (known as "kosai" in the Hausa language and "Acarajé" in Portuguese) is a West African dish found in various forms in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Mali, Gambia and Sierra Leone and it was brought to the Americas by the enslaved Africans. So it is als...o found in various forms in the US, Caribbean and South America. Personally, I know that Haiti, Martinique, St. Lucia and Trinidad have this dish. Though it is made with cowpeas in West Africa, I know African Americans are known to use black-eyed peas instead and they call it black-eyed pea fritters. I think it's beautiful to see that, though we lost so much of our identity and traditions through the Slave trade, many of our West African traditions lingered and remained as proof of our African lineage. What do they call Akara/Acra in your country or culture? This is a repost from another profile...

2021 New Year’s Lunch Black Eyed Peas with Coconut Rice and Cornbread with Coconut Rum Butter * All Vegetarian Style And of course I also meal prepped for take away...I added Veggie Nuggets and Sautéed Bok Choy .... That Coconut Rum Butter tho!!! Just a little buzz to keep everyone....HAPPY NEW YEAR Food, Food Styling and Photo by NZINGHA for ZLounge Nouvelle Caribbean Cuisine