Chef Tonii will prepare Savory Black-eyed Pea Fritters called Akara and Sweet Rice Fritters called Calas. Register at bit.ly/EatFritters to join us.

Enjoy these fritters while reflecting on their cultural significance, the contributions of Africa, and people of African descent to cuisine throughout the diaspora.

Inspired by High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Dr. Jessica B. Harris and season 2 of the Netflix series High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America.

Black-eyed peas, one of the few African crops that could survive in this climate, has "...remained emblematic of Africans and their descendants in the United States...”

Early Africans living here were chosen and taken for “...their knowledge of rice cultivation and their memories of a rice-based cuisine..." from places like "Senegal, where [folks] say that the Lord’s Prayer should be... “Give us this day our daily rice!"

Check out High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by Dr. Jessica B. Harris at the Free Library of Philadelphia.