Easy Nigerian Puff Puff

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This mouth-watering Easy Nigerian Puff Puff is the perfect snack for gatherings, parties and other special occasions. It has a fluffy texture filled with sweetness and a hint of nutmeg. Make it with less than ten easy-to-find ingredients and watch them disappear in seconds!

In the 1900s many different foods and ingredients were introduced to Nigeria. One of these products was flour and popular Nigerian snacks such as chin chin, puff puff and meat pie were born.

Puff puff is quite similar to doughnuts as it is also deep fried and made with yeast; however, there is no hole in the middle, and it is shaped into balls. It can be tricky to make if you don’t have a solid recipe. Too much flour can result in overly dry puff puffs. Not adding enough yeast can make them dense and adding the perfect amount of sugar is essential.

What I Love About this Recipe

Puff puff is very dear to me as it reminds me of my grandmother. When I was a child, I remember her showing me how to make it during birthdays and other special occasions on her visits to London from Nigeria.

I was born and raised in London, but my parents grew up in Nigeria, so I ate a lot of traditional Nigerian food during my childhood. We’d often eat Jollof rice, fried rice, Nigerian Tomato Stew Recipe, dodo and more.

In Nigeria, delicious snacks like akara, suya, puff puff, chin chin and meat pie are easily accessible and sold as street food. However, this is a different story in London and you are most likely to find small chops at parties made by caterers. As a result, many West Africans living abroad look forward to parties for the food!

Black History Month Potluck

In 2023, the theme of Black History Month is Black Resistance and Eat the Culture is recognizing the remarkable and, frankly, underrated resistance of our ancestors in bringing culinary traditions across the Atlantic to shape the vibrance of Black cuisine that we know and love today. They physically and mentally carried African foodways across the deadly Middle Passage to pass down through generations. This year’s Black History Month Virtual Potluck traces popular dishes of the Diaspora from their West African roots to North America and beyond. You can grab the full list of recipes from this year’s collaboration on the Eat the Culture website.

Share these recipes with your friends and loved ones and follow each participant by using the hashtag #BHMVP2023 on Instagram

Puff Puff is a popular West African snack made of lightly sweetened fried dough. It is golden brown on the outside and white and fluffy on the inside. Puff Puff crossed the Atlantic with our ancestors to land on Caribbean islands and in the Gulf States of the USA. Today, I’m teaching you how to make Puff Puff from Nigeria and encourage you to follow the story through Barriguitas de Vieja from Puerto Rico and Beignets from New Orleans.

Ingredients for Puff Puff

Flour: Stick to all-purpose or plain flour and sift to remove dirt and lumps. No need to use self-raising flour for this recipe, as you don’t need the additional leavening agents. Yeast will do the job.
Fast-action yeast: To make the process a little faster, use fast-action yeast. This is a better option than dried yeast because it can be combined with the other dry ingredients and doesn’t have to be activated with warm water first. In addition, make sure you check the date on your yeast. If it has expired, the dough will not rise.
Sugar: The amount of sugar can be varied depending on your preference. Use 200g of sugar for a savory flavor, 230g for a slightly sweet flavor and 250g for extra sweet puff puffs.
Nutmeg: I like grating whole nutmeg for this recipe because it has a delicious strong flavor. However, if you can’t find whole nutmeg, use ground nutmeg instead.
Luke warm water: Make sure the water is lukewarm as this will help the ingredients to combine properly and activate the yeast.
Salt: To balance out the sweet flavors.
Vegetable or sunflower oil: For deep frying.

Recipe Variations

If you want to add a bit of spice to these African doughnut balls, add ground pepper to the puff puff.

More recently, people have become more creative, adding ingredients like cocoa powder and coconut flakes to puff puffs to give them a fun twist!

You can also get creative with your toppings. Dust icing sugar on top or drizzle chocolate ganache or white chocolate ganache.

How to Make Puff Puff

Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix until well combined.

1. Combine dry ingredients for puff puff in a bowl.

2. Then, add ⅓ of the warm water and mix using your hands or a spatula. Repeat this step until the batter is smooth. It should have medium-thick consistency, like pancake batter.

2. Add lukewarm water to dry ingredients and stir.

3. Once the dough has been prepared, cover it with a clean cloth. The cloth should not touch the dough as it will rise. Use a cloth to cover the dough rather than plastic wrap or a lid because the dough needs some air to grow. Leave the dough to sit in a warm place for 1 - 1 hour 30 minutes to ensure it grows.

3. Let dough sit in a warm place for 90 mins to rise.

4. Once the dough has risen, heat oil in a saucepan or deep fryer, then scoop the dough into your hands and squeeze it into the oil to form a ball. Repeat this with the remaining dough and cook for about seven minutes or until golden brown on both sides on medium heat.

4. Squeeze dough into hot oil and fry puffpuff.

5. Place puff puffs in a paper towel to soak excess oil. Serve puff puff as a snack or appetizer and enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

Oil: Fry dough on a medium-heat stove. If the oil is not hot enough, it will become heavy and dense and soak up too much oil. If the oil is too hot, it will cook quickly on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
Shape: Shaping the dough into balls can be tricky, and it takes a bit of practice, so don’t worry if they are not all perfectly shaped like balls. If you aren’t getting the desired shape, try using a large ice cream scoop instead.
Rise: You must allow the dough to rise before frying. For the dough to rise, it should be left in a warm place.

FAQs

What is Nigerian puff puff made of?

Nigerian puff puff is made from plain flour, sugar, yeast, salt, nutmeg and warm water. Once these ingredients are combined, the dough is left to rise and then deep fried.

Are puffs vegan?

Yes. They do not include any dairy products. It is typically made with flour, sugar, yeast, salt, nutmeg and warm water.

Why is my puff puff not Brown?

If the heat is too low then it will cook very slowly, soak up excess oil and it won't be brown on the outside. In some cases, it may still be raw inside. Make sure you cook it on medium heat and turn it as it is fried to ensure that the color is even.

How do you reheat puff puff?

Refrigerate for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. Reheat puff puff in a microwave for about 1 minute depending on your microwave.

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