Puff Puff
Sweet, golden bites of joy that disappear faster than you can fry them.
When you think about a tempting buffet at African parties, one thing which certainly comes to your mind is puff puff. They are an absolute bestseller at every party, street food festival and even small gatherings. I would go as far as saying that where 5 or more people are gathered, puff puff has to be present, or the meeting did not officially take place. So if you're having a few people over and want to preserve your reputation, or you're just craving a really unhealthy, but very fulfilling snack, keep on reading!
What is puff puff?
Puff puff is a very popular African snack, which is made of deep fried yeast batter. It is consumed all over Africa, which is why you may know it as beignet, mikate (Congo) or vetkoeks/magwinya (South Africa, Botswana).
It is one of the most versatile and multi-talented foods you will ever come across. It can accompany a sweet, but also a savory and spicy meal.
A common Cameroonian breakfast consists of a huge bowl of pap (corn porridge) and some freshly made puff puff. It is also popularly eaten with a hearty beans stew.
You will need the following ingredients:
• 500 g of plain wheat flour
• Two packs / 14 g of dry yeast (alternatively, you can use a cube of fresh yeast)
• 150 g of sugar (more or less, depending on your preference)
• 2 cups of warm water (add a little more if you prefer a lighter batter)
• A pinch of salt
• Nutmeg (optional)
Preparation:
1. Add the warm water to a bowl and dissolve the yeast, and then the sugar and salt in it.
2. Add the flour to your liquid mixture and mix it properly, using your hand or a spatula. You don't need to get rid of all the flour lumps, but try to dissolve the biggest ones.
3. Cover your batter with aluminum foil and (preferably) keep it in a warm environment, where it can rise. In a warm environment this will take approximately 1 hour, while in a cold place, it may take up to two hours.
4. You can boil some water in a pot, stand it in your oven and put the bowl with your batter in there.
5. You know the batter is ready to fry, once it has doubled in size.
6. Heat up some vegetable oil in a pot and once it is hot, drop in a spoonful of the batter to see whether it is hot enough. If it turns brown after a few seconds, turn down the heat, or else you will end up with golden-brown puff puff that is uncooked on the inside.
7. Traditionally, you would use your hands to form the puff puff, but if you have not mastered the art of doing that, you can use an ice cream scoop. I would advise you to dip it in a bowl of vegetable oil beforehand and after every few puff puffs, in order to avoid the batter sticking to the scoop.
8. Fry them for a few minutes, and once the bottom side is brown, you can flip them to the other side.
9. If you're feeling a little naughty, you can coat them in sugar.