How to make Nigerian Soft Chin Chin

Chin Chin

Chin Chin dates back to the sixties when Nigerians were just learning to eat fast foods. Aside from bread chin chin was one of the main non traditional snack. Now I wonder who originated this signature Nigerian snack. Well at lest I can claim it for Nigeria since we currently are not vying for ownership unlike Jollof rice. Over the Salah holiday I tried to make as many flavours as I could and of course different shapes also.

My favorite turned out to be the thyme version followed by cinnamon then nutmeg. As for the shape it did not matter as long as I got the crunchy sound in the mouth. I think that besides the sweetness of Chin chin most of us just love that crunchy sound that comes with every bite. Whilst I like the crunchiness I also do not want to break my teeth in the process so I here I settled for the soft version. The hard one just means using more flour and kneading the dough very well to increase the elastic texture. So make a small batch of this Nigerian favorite snack and share with me your new flavor finds. You can double or triple the quantities below as desired.

Recipe for Nigerian Chin Chin

11/2 cups Flour

1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/4 cup Margarine

I Egg

1/4 cup Sugar

2/3 cup Milk

1 Egg

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon or Nutmeg or ground Thyme

Oil for frying about 2 cups

 

Method for making Nigerian Chin Chin

1, Sieve the flour baking powder and nut meg or cinnamon oor thyme into a bowl

2, Cut the margarine into small bits and add to the flour. Ensure that the margarine is hard, that is straight from the fridge

3, Rub the flour and margarine together using  the tip of your fingers and lifting the flour up whilst doing this. You get a final texture that looks like garri or large bread crumbs

4, Beat the egg, add the sugar and milk to the egg and mix well

5, Make a well in the center of the flour, pour in the liquid and mix into the flour to form a dough

6, Take out dough onto a floured board and knead for about 5-10 minutes. The more your knead the crunchier the final product.

7, Roll out dough into thin sheets and cut into strips then little squares or whatever shape you want. the thinner the crunchier the chin chin

8, Heat the oil and test with one piece of dough to see if it fries immediately

9, Fry the chin chin in batches till golden brown. Drain off on kitchen towel

10, Allow to cool well. Enjoy with your favourite drink. To retain the crunchiness store in a jar and keep in the fridge