Chin Chin – West African Fried pastry enjoyed throughout the region especially in Nigeria- Crispy Crunchy and Addictive.
Chin chin is my all time favorite snack -it tastes so good , yet so bad for you .It is a scrumptious fried pastry made in various ways. Throughout West Africa and Nigeria Chin Chin originally was prepared for special occasions. It has evolved from a special occasion food to being a snack food, sold on street corners, kiosk and supermarkets.
Growing up, it was customary at most homes in Cameroon, to make this delicious snack during the Christmas season. Each home has its own variation: some soft to the point of falling apart, others so hard that after a couple of bites you feel like your teeth would break.
Some shaped like small balls; others kneaded and cut into small 1 inch squares. The overall experience of slowly feasting on chin-chin is immeasurable…..I never got tired of trying all the different variations of Chin-Chin.
Even at this ripe old age I still love it , the only issue is, “once I pop I cannot stop”. On one occasion I had to hide it in the trunk of my car. Well, that was a little extreme, but I had to. It is so addictive!!
The ingredients for this recipe are: butter, sugar, eggs and flour and some sort of seasoning. Although the thought of making chin- chin dough can be a little intimidating, this recipe is surprisingly simple and straightforward.
You can shape this however you like. They take no longer to make than any other cookie, and the most time consuming part is probably the frying.
Enjoy!!!
NOTES
- If you like your chin soft then add more butter – 1 or 2 Tablespoons more . Be careful not to use too much butter . If not your chin chin is going to crumble.
- A pasta machine helps in rolling out the dough and shaping it. check it out here
Check out this post here Popular African Food to Celebrate Christmas
Watch How to Make It
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Chin Chin
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups 440 grams all-Purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1- teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon grated lime zest
- 1/4 cup or 4 tablespoons margarine/butter
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup milk
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Using a mixer or by hand mix the dry ingredients; flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg and lime zest
- Add the butter to the flour and mix well until the butter is well incorporated with the flour.
- Add milk and egg into the mixture. Keep mixing until you have formed a sticky dough ball
- Dump the dough ball onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating more flour into the dough as needed, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and even in color and no longer sticky. Chin-chin can be cut into many shapes and sizes
- Divide dough in half .On a floured board roll each half about 1/6 inches thick. Just like linguine or fettuccine. You can make it easy by using a pasta machine if you have one available. Make shapes as desired.
- Add oil (about 3 inches deep) to a heated skillet/sauce pan or my all time favorite Dutch oven that is over medium heat and bring it to 375 degrees .
- Fry in hot oil until golden .Remove from oil, drain, and serve. You can store this in an air tight container for up to a month.
Tips & Notes:
- For this recipe , I used a standard measuring cup( leveled ). I also used standard measuring spoons.
- If you like your chin soft then add more butter – 1 or 2 Tablespoons more . Be careful not to use too much butter . If not your chin chin is going to crumble.
- A pasta machine helps in rolling out the dough and shaping it. check it out here
Nutrition Information:
Lauren says
Tomorrow 2/8/14 will be the 5th anniversary that my mother passed away. She used to make these for me and my siblings when I was little…..I’m going to make these to connect with her and my own daughter. Than-you for the recipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Lauren , What a great way to celebrate your mom. It is my pleasure that this chin-chin recipe is of great help. The only food memory of my mom is , goat soup she made the best.Thanks for taking the time to share this .God bless
bola says
Good!
bola says
This was so good,thanks for the receipe!
ImmaculateBites says
Glad you liked it bola.
Lizzy says
Thanks so much Immaculate, am going to try your recipe. The cup u said is a standard measuring cup or milk tin cup, heaped or leveled. Also what’s d equivalence of the normal ten-cup measuring congo in Kg? Thanks.
yvone says
Awwww thank u so much immaculate.what would my new year snack taste like without ur recipe.i tried many b4 but urs came out as the best.i was so proud to invite my friends over.trust me we had a wonderful chinchin day.Thank u
Africanbites says
Awesome! Glad you liked them and Super glad you shared it with your friends. Thanks for taking the time to comment-It means a lot to me! Happy New Year girl!
nkiru says
Pls can i have Ɣ☺Ūя̲̅ measurement in Kg ?instead of cup.or let me know size of the cup Ʊ mean.thanks.
Liz says
I get plenty of compliments from your recipe. Had a multicultural day at my kids’ school and they loved it. Have you tried it using cinnamon instead of nutmeg ? Wondering if it would taste like a fried cinnamon bun. Have used vanilla, prefer the nutmeg, Have you used it? I am also thinking of a spicy kicked up version, but alas it would not be the same, but if it tastes great, who cares!!!
Merry Christmas!!
Africanbites says
Liz, actually ,I have tried it with cinnamon and my son loves it – granted he is a cinnamon boy. Any thing with cinnamon he is in. I on the other hand, am a nutmeg girl , I would associate that with my childhood……Like you said, who cares about what spice goes into chin-chin if it tastes great. Spice it up girl!!!!
Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas . Thanks for the feedback so greatly appreciated.
Omodele Remi says
Its wonderful.but cant get the measurement very clear
Africanbaker says
Just tried the recipe, it’s brilliant. I’m even thinking of adding cocoa and other variations such as coconut. Just out of curiousity what does ‘AP’ in ‘AP flour’ stand for. Many thanks again.
Africanbites says
African baker , I am working on those variations already. AP stands for all purpose flour- standard flour that is a staple in most kitchens. Thanks!
jecinta iluno says
Tanx for d recipe. It turned out really good.can I get d measurement in kg pls.
ImmaculateBites says
Jecinta, you would have to double or triple the recipes to get in kilo grams
Liz says
I have been looking for a good chin chin recipe for years. I even have a recipe by a Nigerian lady and her recipe is full of measurement errors. Yours is great.
Thank you
Africanbites says
Thanks liz, am so glad my chin- chin taste great.
lizzy ayo says
pls can one use liquid milk for chin chin eg. peak milk
Africanbites says
You sure can, chin chin is made with liquid milk.Peak milk will do just fine. Let me know how it works for you. Thanks for stopping by!
Thomas Remi Adeniyi says
hello Immaculate, is there a way we can package and market this yummy chin-chin or do you already package them?, if so I need some samples.
Kind regards,
Thomas.
Bob says
How did Chin Chin get its name?
Kelsey says
Tried it, came out super good. Thanks, you are the best
Africanbites says
Thanks kelsey.
Kamer Stories says
Tried out this recipe, and it was the bomb. Thanks Imma 🙂
Africanbites says
I am glad you liked it!!!!