Nigerian Snacks : How to Make Puff Puff And Chin Chin

Nigerian snacks are fun and filling, they can even fulfil the purpose of a whole meal. There are different types of snacks in Nigeria with different textures. Some snacks are enjoyed across the nation and others are unique to certain tribes, communities or regions.

Learning how to make snacks is one way to reduce the intensity of cravings. Rather than scouting for these mesmerising snacks, you can make them at home. Puff Puff and chin chin are two Nigerian snacks that have been around for decades and are not going anywhere.

If you want to learn how to make puff puff and chin chin, keep reading.

How to Make Puff Puff

Puff Puff is a popular Nigerian snack that originated in no other place than Nigeria itself. Though shared with other countries, puff puff remains a staple snack throughout the region.

The name puff puff is derived from the nature of the snack, it is a soft and puffy fried dough and no, it is not a doughnut. These small golden-brown balls are deep fried to perfection at street corners, restaurants and can also be made at home.

The snack is so great a lot of people want to learn how to make puff puff.

The basic steps are really easy and, but impatience will ruin the outcome. The procedure must be duly followed to achieve the best puff puff. To make some amazing puff puff you will need;

• 3 and a half cups of Flour
• 2 cups of warm water
• A quarter (1/4) cup of sugar, feel free to do it sugar-free if you like.
• 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
• Half a tablespoon of salt
• Oil to deep fry the dough

Getting the ingredients is one thing, making the puff puff is a whole different ball game. Like mentioned earlier, follow due process, don’t cheat your way to the golden goodness.

The reason why the process is so important is that many things are made from these same ingredients, the process is what sets them apart. Learn how to make puff puff below.

1. The first thing you would want to do is get a nice big bowl. It doesn’t have to be too big, but make sure you have something that can cover it perfectly if need be.
2. In that bowl mix your water, salt, sugar and yeast and leave it to sit for about 5 minutes. Don’t go peaking and stirring, let it sit.
3. Once the 5-minute timer elapses, add your flour and mix. Once you’re done, cover the bowl, preferably with a plastic bag and allow the batter to rise for about 1 to 2 hours.
4. In a pan, pour a good amount of oil to deep fry the mixture and place it on low heat. It is important to have a good oil level in your pan because little oil will lead to flat puff puff. If you are not making puff puff in large quantity, use a smaller pan.
5. How do you know your oil is hot enough? You do a test. To test your oil, simply put a drop of your puff puff batter into the oil. If the oil is hot enough that batter would rise to the top of the pot.
6. Once you’re assured the oil is hot, using your fingers take a bit of batter at a time and drop it like balls into the oil and allow it to deep fry. Some people use their hands to drop the batter in and others prefer to use spoons for fear of the oil and to get the perfect shape.
7. Allow the puff puff to fry for a few minutes, turning it over once for even browning and allow the puff puff cook through.
8. Once evenly cooks, use a spatula to take out the puff puff from the oil and place it on a paper towel, napkin or sieve to drain and soak up any excess oil.
9. Now its time for finishing touches. Once your puff puff has cooled down a bit, you can eat it as so, sprinkle sugar or on it, drizzle it with some honey, syrup, chocolate, caramel, anything you can think of. Puff Puff is like pancakes, they go with almost any topping.

How to Make Chin Chin

Chin Chin is another Nigerian snack you cannot get enough of. It is so filling, and you only need to consume a small quantity of it.

Chin chin is the perfect snack that you can learn how to make at home. It is typically baked or fried dough. The wonderful thing about Nigerian snacks is that they take up 3D shapes. Chin Chin dough is kneaded and cut into miniature cuboids and sometimes cubes and then fried or baked. The chin chin recipe, like every other Nigerian snack, is fun, easy and accommodates other ingredients if you wish to spice up your chin chin with ingredients like chocolate, vanilla, nutmeg, or even fruit. You will need;

• 1kg plain flour
• 200g granulated sugar, feel free to determine the sugar quantity as you like it.
• 75ml evaporated milk / 75g powdered milk
• 125g margarine
• Vegetable oil, you will want your vegetable oil tasteless and odourless so as to not alter the taste of the chin chin.

The process cannot be overemphasised. Do not throw all the ingredients in one bowl and mix it up, you will not get chin chin.

You also want to make sure you have super clean hands because you will be using it a lot in the mixing. You can make some awesome chin chin in these simple steps.

1. In a bowl, mix your milk and sugar and allow it to sit well mixed. If you are using powdered milk add 75ml of water. If you want a softer outcome for your chin chin, add some more water, but, chin chin that is not hard, is that one chin chin?
2. In a different bowl, add your flour and any other powdered ingredient you wish like nutmeg, chocolate powder etc, then work the margarine into the flour mix with your fingers until it is well combined into a crumby texture. Make sure you have no lumps.
3. The third step is to add the sugar and milk mixture to the margarine and flour mix. Work it all in with your hand until you achieve a smooth dough.
4. Sprinkle some flour on a flat surface and place the dough on it to avoid it sticking. Knead the dough gently with a rolling pin until it the dough is nice and evenly flat.
5. Begin to cut your dough in the desired chin chin sizes using a cutter or a knife.
6. Pour a good amount of oil in a pan and place it on medium heat. Test if the oil is hot enough by tossing a piece or two in the oil. It should float.
7. Deep fry the chin chin pieces in the oil, continuously stirring it for an even golden-brown colour and cook.
8. Scoop the pieces out of the oil using a big spatula and spread it on a flat tray covered with paper towel or paper to cool down, soak up excess oil and dry.
9. If you wish to bake your chin chin, preheat your oven to about 115 degrees.
10. neatly place baking sheets on a baking pan and properly spread your chin chin pieces on it.
11. Brush the pieces lightly with oil and toss it in the oven and allow it to bake for about 5 minutes ensuring the chin chin is nicely brown and crisp.