Koose

Koose, also known as bean cake, is a spicy black-eyed pea fritter commonly eaten as a snack in West Africa, often with porridge. Sometimes it is sandwiched in bread and called koose bread or paanu kooshe. The food is said to have spread from the Yoruba of present day Nigeria, who call it akara. It is common among the Hausa people of northern Nigeria, the Dagomba and Hausa of Ghana and elsewhere in West Africa, including Sierra Leone and Cameroon, and it is also found in Caribbean countries such as Cuba and in South American countries such as Brazil. Names include koose, kooshe and koosay in Ghana, akara in Nigeria, acaraje in Brazil and bollitos de carita in Cuba. It supplies fiber, antioxidants and protein from the black-eyed peas.