Open City and Akara Fritters

I wish I could say I loved Teju Cole's Open City, because it got rave reviews and seemed promising when I picked it up.  Unfortunately, I found the book very hard to get through and when I did get finally get through it, I did not really feel like the work was worth it.  Perhaps it is because I just need a little more plot to push me through a book.  I read a lot of dry stuff  for a living - as a lawyer I pretty much read all day, so when I read for fun I want a little escapism and storytelling.  What Open City basically is is a narrative of what is going on in the main character Julius' head as he walks around New York.  Just like the thoughts in your own head - sometimes this stuff is interesting and sometimes it is a total snooze.  Julius is a doctor of Nigerian and German descent who is living in New York and finishing up his residency in psychiatry at what I assume is the hospital associated with Columbia University.  Julius is what you would call a lost soul - he does not have strong connections to any people or community in New York.  There are things in life he loves - such as an old professor and classical music - but even these things he seems to treat in a detached manner.   I think it is this detachment that really made it hard for me to dig into Open City because the book felt aimless and without any real emotion.  The book reads this way because this is how Julius' thoughts are  - but for me this made for a tough read.  These Akara fritters were more successful for me - they are not inspired by the book in any way other than that Julius grew up in Nigeria and this is a Nigerian dish.  They are made with black eyed peas and a small amount of habanero chile that delivers a nice amount of heat.  Paired with a red pepper dipping sauce, they were a winner.

Open City is a novel which follows the inner life of Julian, a lonely New York psychiatrist.  There is very little going on plot wise, much of the book revolves around Julian's reflections as he walks through New York.  Not a lot of this reflection is even really about Julian's life, which I would have liked more I think, but it is instead about classical music and architecture and literature and history.  You know that guy at the party that takes the littlest thing - oh look at that old car passing by - and has a 30 minute rambling story about its history?  That's Julian.  I found some of his rambling thoughts interesting and much of them not very engaging. After reading the rave reviews for the book I felt that maybe I am just not smart enough to love this book (for example, the short NYT review managed to use words like peripatetic, disquisitive, peregrination, quotidian, palimpsest...) But I give Cole credit because this book was certainly unique and although I was not that interested in hearing more from Julian, Cole created a real voice.  One part of the book that I thought was problematic was a after many pages of somewhat shallow and cursory interactions between Julian and other people - friends, coworkers, cab drivers - there is a dramatic and disturbing conversation between Julian and a women he knew as a child in Nigeria.  Julian does not react to this conversation but just goes about his business, so therefore we never hear anything more about it.  This was too dramatic a reveal to leave hanging and frankly left me confused about who I thought Julian was.   I don't want to dissuade you from reading this book just because I did not like it.  I do think it is worth trying, especially if you are not a plot junky like me.



Akara - Nigerian Black Eyed Pea Fritters, adapted from epicurious.com
I don't think there is any food in Open City.  Nothing at all that inspired me to make a dish.  BUT, because I knew nothing about Nigerian food and Julian was Nigerian, I thought this is the perfect opportunity to make something Nigerian.  I found these fritters partly because the recipe did not have ingredients that may be hard to find.    They came together quickly and should be eaten immediately after cooking.  If you let them sit they are just oily sponges.  Word of warning please be careful handling the habaneros.  I would use gloves if you have them.  Wash your hands thorough after touching them.  If you have a lingering burning sensation I hear that rubbing oil on it will ease the burn.

Ingredients (for about 20 fritters)
2 cups dried black eyed peas, soaked overnight in water

Sauce
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon minced fresh habanero chile (with seeds)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable or peanut oil
1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried shrimp (optional), ground [i substituted some Thai fish sauce]

Fritters
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh habanero chile (with seeds)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons salt
6 to 8 tablespoons water
Vegetable or peanut oil for frying.

Directions:

1.  Drain peas and set aside.
2. To make sauce, combine the pepper, tomato, onion, chile and salt in a food processor and processor until pureed.
3. Heat oil in a large skillet, add the pepper mixture and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the dried shrimp or fish sauce and cook for 3 -4 more minutes, set aside.
5. To make fritters, add the peas, the chile and the onion to the bowl of a food processor and process until a paste - smooth with some little bits.
6. Add the eggs and pulse a few times.
7. Add the water and pulse until fluffy.
8. Stir in salt.
9. Heat oil in a dutch oven until it is 375 degrees.
10. Using two spoons drop about 2 tablespoon sized fritters into the hot oil (carefully).
11. Fry until well browned on each side, about 2  - 4 minutes a side.
12. Drain on a paper towel and serve immediately with the pepper sauce.