Sweet & Savoury Bean Cakes

I would like to share with you my twist on an old classic, favorite bean dish.....Bean Cakes...

Though they are deep fried, bean fitters are traditionally called bean cakes.....so I decided to "bake" bean cakes, really....!

Verdict:
Process: Baking along did not achieve the best outcome so I part baked and part fried.
Taste: A different take on bean fritters. Best eaten while hot. It has a balanced sweet and savory taste....ideal to serve as starter and a great accompaniment to warm zobo ogi dessert....

What you need

• Bean flour
• Egg
• Tomato paste
• Honey
• Baking soda
• Milk
• Salt

What to do

1. Start first by making the bean cakes as these take the longest time to make. 
2. Sieve some bean flour into a mixing bowl and add some milk, one egg, two spoons honey (more or less as you prefer), a pinch of baking soda, half a teaspoon of salt. 
3. Mix all ingredients together. Then add some tomato paste to add some colour to the bean cakes. Mix all ingredients together until you achieve a batter similar to a cake batter. Add some milk to adjust the consistency. 
4. There two steps to making the cakes: 
5. First scoop some batter into small cake pop moulds. Place in a preheated oven gas mark 4. This stage is just to get the batter to take shape. After about 10 minutes or so, remove the bean cakes from the mould. By now they should be perfect half moon shape. 
6. Second, transfer the half baked cakes into hot oil and fry for about 3 minutes or until golden brown.

Maize & Beans Stir Fry

Our fore mothers, though majority of them with no formal education, understood the concept of balanced diet...Combining (corn) maize with beans is one of the simplest, nutritionally balanced dishes eaten in virtually every Nigerian household.

Aside from combining them simply as maize and beans, these two food ingredients are a match made in foodie heaven, and often times even when they undergo individual processes to transform them into other foods, they still come together as a winning combo......examples:

Moin moin & Eko
Ogi & Akara
Ewa Alagbado

My Maize & Beans stir fry brings together these two friends again, in combination with a few other ingredients, to create a balanced and delicious food idea that can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

What you need

• Pre-cooked maize on the cob (you can use canned sweetcorn as an alternative)
• Pre cooked oloyin beans
• Pre cooked tete (amaranth greens) (you can also use fresh ones or other vegetables like spinach as a substitute)
• Handful of chopped onions
• Pre made red pepper sauce
• Fresh cayenne chilli pepper(optional)
• Coconut oil 
• Salt to taste

What to do

1. Prep the maize: boil the maize in some salted water until soft, then with a sharp knife shave off the kernels from the cob and set aside until needed. Alternatively you can use sweetcorn kernels directly from the can/tin.
2. Prep beans: remove all chaff and debris from the beans then cook in some salted water, preferably using a pressure cooker. When cooked, cool and set aside until needed
3. Heat some oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the onions and chopped chilli pepper if using. Allow the onions to brown slightly then add the maize kernels. Continue stirring all ingredients around to avoid burning. 
4. Add a couple serving spoons of some pre cooked red pepper sauce. Keep stirring and if required add some sprinkling of water to avoid drying out. 
5. Then add some cooked beans and lastly some blanched tete. Turn heat down and taste for salt. Adjust as required. Allow all ingredients to simmer and heat through for a further 2-3 minutes. Serve hot.