Small Chops

Puff Puff

Name: Puff Puff
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 300 g plain wheat flour; 70 g granulated sugar; 6 g instant yeast; 0.25 tsp ground nutmeg (optional); 0.5 tsp fine salt; 250 ml water (lukewarm, not hot); 30 ml additional water (only if needed for consistency); 1.5 litres neutral frying oil (or enough for 6–7 cm depth in a deep pot)

Light yeast-raised fritters with golden outsides and springy, softly sweet centres. Puff puff appears in Nigerian street-food stalls and celebration platters alike. It belongs to a wider West African family of fried dough snacks, with local names and variations. Yeast fermentation gives this version its airy interior, distinguishing it from the denser baking-powder snack usually called Nigerian buns. Cultural context: This is a common Nigerian sweet version of a fried-dough tradition shared across West Africa; it is not assigned to one ethnic group.

Photo by Afrolems ; cropped by Off-shell · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

Resized and cropped for display. Image remains under its original license.

15 minPreparation

25 minCooking

8Servings

Allow 60 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 100 minutes.

What you’ll need

8 servings

300 g plain wheat flour
70 g granulated sugar
6 g instant yeast
0.25 tsp ground nutmegoptional
0.5 tsp fine salt
250 ml waterlukewarm, not hot
30 ml additional wateronly if needed for consistency
1.5 litres neutral frying oilor enough for 6–7 cm depth in a deep pot

Let’s get cooking

1
Mix flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and optional nutmeg in a bowl with room for the batter to expand.
2
Stir in the 250 ml lukewarm water and beat for 2–3 minutes until smooth and stretchy. Add the extra water a little at a time only if the mixture is too stiff to fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon.
3
Cover and leave in a warm place for about 45–75 minutes, until roughly doubled and full of bubbles. This is a yeast-fermentation stage, not just resting.
4
Heat the oil to about 170–175°C. The pot should remain less than half full once oil is added.
5
Fold the risen batter gently a few times. Use two lightly oiled spoons to lower rounded tablespoonfuls into the oil, keeping hands away from splashes.
6
Fry in small batches for 5–7 minutes, turning, until golden. Break open the first one to confirm a springy cooked centre with no wet flour paste; lower the heat if it browns too quickly.
7
Drain on a rack or paper and serve warm. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding each new batch.

A little kitchen wisdom

Makes about 24–30 small fritters, depending on spoon size. If the batter has not risen, check yeast freshness and room temperature before frying. Never taste raw flour batter. Timing: active preparation 15 min; cooking 25 min; additional passive time 60 min; conservative planning allowance 100 min. Some stages may overlap. For Recipe.ng display, prep_minutes includes the additional passive time; it is not all hands-on work. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Wheat (gluten)

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Nigerian yeast fritters

This is a common Nigerian sweet version of a fried-dough tradition shared across West Africa; it is not assigned to one ethnic group.

Allergens: Wheat (gluten)

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Puff Puff

Photo by Afrolems ; cropped by Off-shell · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

Resized and cropped for display. Image remains under its original license.

15 minPreparation

25 minCooking

8Servings

Allow 60 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 100 minutes.

What you’ll need

8 servings

300 g plain wheat flour
70 g granulated sugar
6 g instant yeast
0.25 tsp ground nutmegoptional
0.5 tsp fine salt
250 ml waterlukewarm, not hot
30 ml additional wateronly if needed for consistency
1.5 litres neutral frying oilor enough for 6–7 cm depth in a deep pot

Let’s get cooking

1
Mix flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and optional nutmeg in a bowl with room for the batter to expand.
2
Stir in the 250 ml lukewarm water and beat for 2–3 minutes until smooth and stretchy. Add the extra water a little at a time only if the mixture is too stiff to fall from a spoon in a thick ribbon.
3
Cover and leave in a warm place for about 45–75 minutes, until roughly doubled and full of bubbles. This is a yeast-fermentation stage, not just resting.
4
Heat the oil to about 170–175°C. The pot should remain less than half full once oil is added.
5
Fold the risen batter gently a few times. Use two lightly oiled spoons to lower rounded tablespoonfuls into the oil, keeping hands away from splashes.
6
Fry in small batches for 5–7 minutes, turning, until golden. Break open the first one to confirm a springy cooked centre with no wet flour paste; lower the heat if it browns too quickly.
7
Drain on a rack or paper and serve warm. Allow the oil to return to temperature before adding each new batch.