'Akara' Aka Bean Or Lentil Fritters

• 1 cup yellow lentils, sorted and stones/bit removed (or 150g gram flour)
• 1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• fresh chili pepper (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves
• 1 teaspoon dry roasted and lightly crushed cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• oil , for deep frying

1. Soak the lentils in water for at least 2 hours, or overnight. Then rinse and blend with the 1/2 cup of water, chopped onions and fresh chilli pepper till a smooth, thick paste (like porridge) forms. You may need to stir the mixture around and pulse till you get a smooth paste. The batter should be of slightly thinner consistency than dips like hummus. If it is too thick, add more water by the tablespoonful and watch. This is because you want the fritters it to hold their shape when fried. If using lentil flour, blend onions and chilli pepper and mix with the flour and enough water to make a thick paste. Continue with next steps
2. Then add the chopped cilantro and crushed cumin seeds to the mix. Stir well to combine.
3. Add some salt to the batter. For this recipe, I used 1/2 a teaspoon of salt but adjust to your taste.
4. Heat up oil in a deep pan. When oil is hot, scoop up some batter, using a tablespoon for large fritters or a teaspoon for smaller one. Gently lower the fritter batter into the hot oil, and continue till the pan is full.
5. When the bottom of the fritters are brown, 2-3 minutes, turn over and let the other side brown.
6. When both sides are browned, remove with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen tissue or in a sieve.
7. Serve with bread....preferably white bread and a cuppa.

yellow lentils, onion, fresh chili pepper, cilantro, cumin seeds, water, oil

Taken from food52.com/recipes/2408-akara-aka-bean-or-lentil-fritters (may not work)