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Puff puff
Fried dough balls
Soft, golden yeast-dough balls with nutmeg, Nigeria's party snack, known as bofrot in Ghana
Puff puff is the snack of Nigerian parties, school gates and roadside stalls: a sweet yeast batter scooped by hand into hot oil, where it swells into soft, chewy, golden balls. Across the border in Ghana the same treat is called bofrot (or 'boflot'), often a little larger and spiced with more nutmeg, and sold in clear bags on Accra's streets; we treat them as one dish here. Eat them warm on their own, or with a dusting of sugar. Chef's tip: the batter is ready only when it has doubled and is full of bubbles; under-proved batter gives heavy, greasy balls.
- Total time
- 35 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 13 oz plain flour
- 3 ⅛ oz caster sugar
- ¼ oz instant dried yeast
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups lukewarm waterabout
- 1 litre vegetable oilfor deep frying
- 2 tbsp icing sugar (optional)for dusting
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Whisk 13 oz plain flour, 3 ⅛ oz caster sugar, ¼ oz instant dried yeast, ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg and ½ tsp salt in a large bowl.
Step 2: Pour in 1 ½ cups lukewarm water and beat with your hand or a wooden spoon for 2–3 minutes until you have a thick, smooth, stretchy batter, thicker than pancake batter but too soft to knead.
Step 3: Cover and leave somewhere warm until doubled, bubbly and wobbly.
45 minStep 4: Heat 1 litre vegetable oil in a deep pan over a medium heat to 350°F, or until a drop of batter rises at once with steady small bubbles.
6 minStep 5: Wet your hand, scoop up batter and squeeze it out between your thumb and index finger, dropping a walnut-sized ball into the oil. A spoon works too: dip it in water between scoops.
Step 6: Fry 6–8 at a time, turning, until puffed and evenly deep golden. A common mistake is oil that is too hot: they brown in seconds but stay raw and doughy in the middle.
4 minStep 7: Drain on kitchen paper and dust with 2 tbsp icing sugar if you like. Best eaten warm on the day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 64 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does puff puff take?
- About 35 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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