How To Make Koose
This is not to bring back arguments on who makes better dishes – Nigerians or Ghanaians, after all one man’s meat is another’s poison, but when it comes to Koose I’d give it to the Ghanaians! I duff my hat. And hey, I’m Nigerian. You should try this Koose with sweet pepper sauce and taste for yourself.
Ingredients
1½ cups of whole, dried black eyed beans
1 medium onion
1 inch of ginger (optional)
1/2 – 1 whole pepper (or more, if you wish)
1/2 cup of water to blend
1 leveled teaspoon of flaked sea salt
1L of vegetable oil for frying
Preparation
1. Prepare the beans by soaking and de-hulling the night before. Let me add that some people do this for as long as even two days.
2. Place the beans into a sturdy blender and begin to pulse until smooth. Add 1/4 cup of water at a time to facilitate the blending process.
3. Add the onion, ginger (if you wish) and scotch bonnet pepper to the blender and pulse until smooth. Add the sea salt flakes and mix into the batter. I love the taste and flavor of ginger in mine.
4. Heat up the cooking oil in a small to medium sized sauce pan. Test the readiness of the oil by adding a shaved piece of ginger. If it sizzles and rises to the top, the oil is hot enough.
5. Using a tablespoon to scoop the batter, spoon about 5 tablespoons of batter into the oil. You will see them puff up into round balls. Fry and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn them in the oil to ensure they are evenly browned.
6. Once cooked, scoop them out of the oil and allow to drain in a paper towel. Serve as a snack with a pepper sauce such as sauce rouge or tomato gravy. You can also enjoy Koose with some millet porridge.