Puff-puff

Last updated
Puff-puff
Nigerian-puff-puff-recipe cropped.jpg
Type Doughnut
Course snack
Place of origin Nigeria [1]
Main ingredients Flour, yeast, sugar, salt, butter, water, eggs, vegetable oil
VariationsBoflot, kala, mikate, togbei, beignet dougoup

Puff-puff is a traditional snack made of fried dough and eaten across Africa, especially in the west of the continent. The name "puff-puff" is from Nigeria, but many other names and varieties of the pastry exist (see below).

Contents

Puff-puffs are generally made of dough containing flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, water and eggs (which are optional), and deep-fried in vegetable oil to a golden-brown color. Baking powder can be used as a replacement for yeast, but yeast is a better option. [2] After frying, puff-puffs can be rolled in sugar. Like the French beignet and the Italian zeppole, puff-puffs can be rolled in any spice or flavoring such as cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg. They may be served with a fruit dip of strawberry or raspberry.

Varieties and other names

In Francophone West Africa it is known as gato in Guinea and Mali (from the French gateau) and beignet in Senegal and Cameroon, as well as in The Gambia. A common Senegalese variety uses millet flour rather than wheat. [3] Cameroonians accompany beignets with beans. [2]

Other names for the dish include buffloaf (or bofrot) in Ghana, botokoin in Togo, bofloto in the Ivory Coast, mikate in Congo, micate or bolinho in Angola, legemat in Sudan, kala in Liberia, and vetkoek , amagwinya, or magwinya in South Africa and Zimbabwe. The prominence of this dish stretches even to the southern and eastern edges of Africa, where it is mostly known as mandazi. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doughnut</span> Sweet food made from deep-fried dough

A doughnut or donut is a type of pastry made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franchised specialty vendors. Doughnut is the traditional spelling, while donut is the simplified version; the terms are used interchangeably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porridge</span> Food

Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beignet</span> Deep fried pastry

Beignet is a type of deep-fried pastry of French origin. It is commonly made from pâte à choux, but can also be made using rice flour or yeast-leavened batters. Beignets can be served in a variety of preparations, the most common being dusted with confectioner’s sugar. The pastry is popular in French, Italian, and American cuisines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dough</span> Paste used in cooking

Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening agents, as well as ingredients such as fats or flavorings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fritter</span> Fried pastry usually consisting of a portion of batter with a filling

A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables, or other ingredients which have been battered or breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-fried. Fritters are prepared in both sweet and savory varieties.

<i>Æbleskiver</i> Danish traditional batter cakes

Æbleskiver are spherical Danish snacks made from fried batter. The name literally means "apple slices" in Danish, although apples are not usually an ingredient in present-day versions. The crust is similar in texture to European pancakes, but with a light and fluffy interior similar to a Yorkshire pudding. The English language spelling is usually aebleskiver,ebleskiver or ebelskiver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choux pastry</span> Type of pastry dough

Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is a delicate pastry dough used in many pastries. The essential ingredients are butter, water, flour and eggs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puri (food)</span> Food

Puri, also poori, is a type of deep-fried bread, made from unleavened whole-wheat flour, originated from the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buñuelo</span> Fried dough ball

A buñuelo (Spanish:[buˈɲwelo], alternatively called boñuelo, bimuelo, birmuelo, bermuelo, bumuelo, burmuelo, or bonuelo, is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical connection to Spaniards, including Southwest Europe, the Balkans, Anatolia, and other parts of Asia and North Africa. Buñuelos are traditionally prepared at Christmas. It will usually have a filling or a topping. In Mexican cuisine, it is often served with a syrup made with piloncillo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghanaian cuisine</span>

Ghanaian cuisine refers to the meals of the Ghanaian people. The main dishes of Ghana are centered around starchy staple foods, accompanied by either a sauce or soup as well as a source of protein. The primary ingredients for the vast majority of soups and stews are tomatoes, hot peppers, and onions. As a result of these main ingredients, most Ghanaian jollof rice, soups, and stews appear red or orange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliebol</span> Traditional Dutch and Belgian food

An oliebol is a Dutch beignet, doughnut or fried dough that is traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve. People often eat it with raisins baked inside and with powdered sugar on top. Another variation is made with apple inside instead of raisins. There are similar foods all around the world, for example Samoan Panikeke, eaten mostly with jam or butter on top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigerian cuisine</span> Culinary traditions of Nigeria

Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes or food items from the hundreds of Native African ethnic groups that comprises Nigeria. Like other West African cuisines, it uses spices and herbs with palm oil or groundnut oil to create deeply flavored sauces and soups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chin chin</span> Nigerian snack

Chin chin is a fried snack from Nigeria. It is known as atchomon in Togo and Benin, achomo in Ghana, and croquette or Chin Chin in Cameroon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassava-based dishes</span> Foods prepared with cassava

A great variety of cassava-based dishes are consumed in the regions where cassava is cultivated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mandazi</span> Fried bread

Mandazi is a form of fried bread that originated on the Swahili Coast. It is also known as bofrot or puff puff in Western African countries such as Ghana and Nigeria. It is one of the principal dishes in the cuisine of the Swahili people who inhabit the Coastal Region of Kenya and Tanzania. The dish is popular in the region, as it is convenient to make, can be eaten with almost any food or dips or just as a snack by itself, and can be saved and reheated for later consumption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swabian cuisine</span> German regional cuisine

Swabian cuisine is native to Swabia, a region in southwestern Germany comprising great parts of Württemberg and the Bavarian part of Swabia. Swabian cuisine has a reputation for being rustic, but rich and hearty. Fresh egg pastas, soups, and sausages are among Swabia's best-known types of dishes, and Swabian cuisine tends to require broths or sauces; dishes are rarely "dry".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dumpling</span> Food that consists of small pieces of dough

Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough, often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, or a combination. Dumplings may be prepared using a variety of cooking methods and are found in many world cuisines.

Hausa cuisine is traditional and modern food prepared by Hausa people. It is based on the availability of raw food materials they can farm or provide from other places. Most times Hausa people depend purely on the farm products they have cultivated for food preparations. Hausa people have a meal that is common to most Zongo communities called Tuo Zaafi.

References

  1. "The puff-puff: A Nigerian delicacy".
  2. 1 2 "How To Make Puff Puff". Zikoko!. 2021-07-24. Retrieved 2021-09-13.
  3. "Beignets dougoub (beignets de mil soufflés)". Senecuisine. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  4. "Nigerian Food Recipes TV| Nigerian Food blog, Nigerian Cuisine, Nigerian Food TV, African Food Blog: Nigerian Puff Puff Recipe : How to make Puff puff". Nigerianfoodtv.com. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 2016-01-11.

Further reading