Black-Eyed Pea Fritters

Also spelled akara or accra, this West African dish traveled to the Caribbean and Latin America during the transatlantic slave trade. Though it has a number of variations, most often its main ingredients are flour, cowpeas or black-eyed peas, and sometimes saltfish. This dish carries deep spiritual significance for many religious communities connected to the Yoruba people and is traditionally fried in red palm oil and prepared as an offering to certain orishas (Yoruba deities)