Acaraje black-eyed pea fritters with shrimp filling Recipe

First, make the filling: place the onion, ginger, garlic, chili, and some salt into a food processor and purée until smooth. Heat the 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a frying pan and pour the purée into it. Fry for 5 minutes, or until it's cooked through. Add the prawns, tomatoes, and chopped coriander. Squeeze in the lime juice and add salt to taste. Cook for another 3 minutes, or until the prawns have cooked through and turned opaque. Remove the pan from the heat.

Drain and rinse the black-eyed peas, then pour them into a food processor with the garlic and chili. Purée until the mixture is completely smooth. Scrape this purée into a bowl and add the finely diced red onion, plain flour, salt, chili powder, and baking powder. Mix everything together, then roll the mixture into 16 balls.

Preheat your oven to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Heat about 8cm of palm or vegetable oil in a wok or a small, heavy-bottomed pan. Test the oil by dropping in a tiny piece of bread; it should sizzle immediately. Carefully drop 4-5 fritter balls into the hot oil. Fry them for about 4-5 minutes, or until they are golden and crisp. Drain the cooked fritters on kitchen paper. Repeat this process with the remaining balls, keeping the finished fritters warm in the oven as you go. Once all the fritters are done, slice each one open down the center and spoon in the shrimp filling. Serve immediately with hot sauce.