How to make Nigerian Puff Puff ?

Nigerian Puff puff is one Nigeria’s favourite snack
Mention small chops at Nigerian parties and you will find puff puff listed as one of the top 3 snacks. My concern for non nutritional meals and dishes has prevented me from featuring Nigerian  puff puff on this blog but the request for the recipe has been enormous. So trusting that most of us do not eat puff puff on a daily basis and therefore if we are sensible with most of what we eat, a few balls of this pastry will do no harm.
But trust me I have been tempted a few times in Balogun market in Lagos passing by one of those puff puff ‘depots’ in the market. The smell of freshly fried puff puff actually takes real strong will to resist if you love this pastry.
Nigerian Puff puff is that type of food where you start to loose count of how many pieces you have eaten particularly if you are frying at home. You are struggling to manage blowing the hot balls cold with each bite so you loose count of how many you have eaten.
So my advise is pick the number of balls you want to eat and make sure all the rest are divided out… Hope this works for you :).
The key ingredients for puff puff is the yeast. The quality of yeast and the environmental temperature actually determines for how long you allow the dough to rise (proof).
I spiced things up a bit with Chilli pepper , but you can do without it.
Enjoy with caution!

Recipe for Nigerian Puff Puff.
Ingredients
2 cups plain Flour
1 tbsp  instant dry Yeast
3 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp of Salt
1 tsp Dry  Pepper
1tsp Vanilla essence
11/4 cups tepid Water
Enough veg oil for frying
Method
1. Sieve flour into a clean bowl and add all the dry ingredient mix properly
2. Add the warm tepid water and mix well until you have a smooth paste
3. Cover with a clean damp cloth set in a warm place and allow mix to rise until double the size for 30-45 minutes
4. Scoop with a spoon drop into a moderately hot oil and fry till golden brown
5. Drain onto a kitchen paper in a colander  and serve

Cooking tip:
1, The temperature of the water to use is such that will be comfortable for a baby’s mouth.
2, Dropping the semi solid dough in the oil takes practice . You can use a spoon or your hands depending what you feel comfortable with.
3 , When frying you need to attend to the balls carefully as turning over is difficult when one side is brown. Keep your colander lined with kitchen tissue near by before you start frying.