The Food Gatherer's Note: This is a simple traditional Nigerian party snack, introduced to me by my Mother in Law, Incredibly simple and really good with coffee. In true Nigerian style the original recipe I was given catered for thousands, so I have reworked the quantities for these purposes, but it should still be enough for a party! - Emma
I really need to work on my latte art...
CHIN CHIN
Ingredients:
500g of plain flour
100g of butter (soft)
75 ml whole milk
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder(optional)
50g of granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1 large egg
Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
To prepare:
Beat the eggs in a bowl and set aside. Pour the sugar into a small bowl, add the milk and mix thoroughly.
In a bigger bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Mix well and then add the butter. Mix and rub the mixture between your fingertips until it looks like fine bread crumbs.
Add the eggs and the milk-sugar mixture into the bowl and mix well until you get a smooth but stiff dough.
Place the dough on a floured flat surface and knead for a minute. Then, using a rolling pin, roll the dough flat and cut into any shape of choice (I usually like diamonds). Note that the dough doubles in size when placed in the hot oil, so keep the shapes small.
Heat up oil in a deep pan until very hot and fry the Chin Chin dough in batches (you don't want too many in at the same time)
Stir continuously until all the chin chin changes from white to golden brown.
Transfer the fried Chin chin onto a large plate or tray with kitchen paper to absorb any oil on the surface or tray and leave to cool completely, then store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!