Chin Chin Recipe
The sweet and savory snack we call chin chin delivers a delightful West African treat that’s crispy and utterly addictive. These small, fried dough pieces have a unique crunch and a hint of nutmeg, making them perfect for any occasion.
Whether enjoyed as a snack on their own, served at parties, or shared with friends and family during celebrations, this beloved treat brings joy. If any of your friends are from West Africa, it’s sure to make them a little nostalgic.
With basic pantry staples like flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, this easy-to-make recipe allows you to create a batch of these delicious bites right in your own kitchen. Perfect for munching on movie nights or a fun addition to dessert platters, chin chin is sure to become a favorite in your home!
What Is Chin Chin?
Throughout West Africa and Nigeria, it’s small, crispy pieces of fried dough, typically sweetened and flavored with nutmeg, and is prepared for special occasions. While I was growing up, it was customary in most homes in Cameroon to make this delicious snack during Christmas. Each home has its own variation. Some are soft to the point of falling apart, while others are so hard you feel like your teeth are going to break.
Some people shape them like small balls; others knead and cut them into small squares. The overall experience of slowly feasting on chin chin is indescribable. I never tire of trying all the different variations.
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. It may have been a little extreme, but I wasn’t prepared to share!
How to Make Chin Chin
- Mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and lime zest. (Photo 1)
- Add the butter to the flour mixture and mix until well incorporated. (Photo 2)
- Whisk in the milk and egg, and keep mixing until it forms a sticky dough ball. (Photo 3)
- Knead on a floured surface as needed until the dough is smooth, elastic, even in color, and no longer sticky. You can create many shapes and sizes. (Photo 4)
- Divide the dough in half. On a floured board, roll each half out until it’s about ⅙ inch thick. A pasta machine works great if you have one. Then, cut the dough into any shape you desire. I folded some of them into cute shapes and left others square. (Photos 5-8)
- Fry in around 3 inches of 375℉ (190℃) oil until golden. (Photos 9-11)
- Remove them from the oil, drain, and serve. (Photo 12)
Recipe Tips and Notes
- The coconut version is just as addictive. Grind ¼ to ½ coconut flakes until fine and powdery, then add them to the dry ingredients, and then add a little more milk or water for a better texture. Coconut flour is thirsty, so you’ll need to go by feel.
- Curly chin chin in Cameroon is extra special for Christmas. Cut the dough into narrow strips instead of squares. It will curl when you fry it.
- If you like yours softer, add an extra tablespoon of butter. Just don’t go overboard, or your finished product will crumble.
- A pasta machine helps roll out the dough for shaping. Check out how to use it in my Ghana chin chin recipe.
- Keep an eye on your oil temperature as you fry to make sure it doesn’t get too hot and burn.
- Also, avoid overcrowding the frying pan, which lowers the oil temperature quickly, resulting in a greasy snack.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
You can store this snack in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month, so feel free to make it in advance.
What Goes With Chin Chin
You can serve it on its own or with dips (chocolate sauce and caramel sauce are particularly tasty). Or serve it with other savory snacks, like plantain chips.
You could also include these bites as part of a larger snack platter with other treats like puff-puff, meat pies, or sambusas for variety.
More Celebration-Worthy African Foods to Try
By Imma
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”leWUmIP9″ upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 20:14:42 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”Chin Chin” description=”Chin Chin – West African Fried pastry enjoyed throughout the region especially in Nigeria- Crispy Crunchy and Addictive.”]
This blog post was originally published in November 2012 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Nigerian Chin Chin
Ingredients
- 3½ cups (420g) all-purpose flour (see notes for coconut chin chin)
- ¾ cup (150g) sugar
- ½ teaspoon (2-3g) salt
- ¼ teaspoon (1-2g) baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (2-3g) grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon (1-2g) lime zest, grated
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons or 60g) butter (or margarine)
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup (175-180ml) milk
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Using a mixer (or by hand), mix the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, nutmeg, and lime zest.
- Mix the butter into the flour mixture until well incorporated.
- Add the milk and egg to the mixture. Keep mixing until you form 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. You can create many shapes and sizes for chin chin.
- Divide the dough in half. On a floured board, roll each half out until it's about ⅙ inch thick, just like linguine or fettuccine. A pasta machine works great if you have one. Then, cut the dough into any shape you desire.
- Heat a deep cast-iron skillet, saucepan, or (my all-time favorite) a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add around 3 inches of oil and heat it to 375℉ (190℃). Fry chin chin in the hot oil until golden.
- Remove them from the oil, drain, and serve.
Tips & Notes:
- For coconut chin chin, finely grind ¼-½ of coconut flakes. It should be powdery like flour, then add it to the dry ingredients. Coconut flour is quite thirsty, so add a little extra milk or water for a better texture.
- If you like softer chin chin, add 1-2 tablespoons more butter. But please be careful not to use too much, or the dough may become soft and crumbly.
- A pasta machine helps roll out and shape the dough.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe
Great site web page Imma! Your presentation makes my mouth water, and it made me leave a comment – something I rarely do.
I haven’t tried your recipe yet, but just looking at it, I know it will taste great. I have even recommended the recipe from your page to my colleague who is into backing and wanted the recipe, after tasting the chin-chin I brought/bought at our potluck today.
Hi Judith! Am honored that you would take the time to comment . And thank you so much for sharing!!! Do let me know how it works out for you. Happy Cooking!!!
My boyfriend who is actually not a chin chin lover can not get enough of these! Such a great recipe thank you for sharing it with us
Nice! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
is it advisable to add milk to ChinChin?
Yes it is .
Thanks
Thanks for the easy recipe, pls ma I like my chin-chin very soft and rich,should the milk be more or the egg to make it soft. Secondly, apart from lime zest ,what other flavour can I add together with nutmeg to make it wao! ? Thanks ma
The egg or butter would make it softer and you can add vanilla or orange zest
For three I ve been on this site thank you sweet sweety please if I don’t want to add egg what else can I use .water ??
add 1/4 cup milk to sub for the egg.
Dear IB
I’ve tried it today and it turned out so yummy. We all love chin chin,especially our little daughter.
We usually buy it from african stores here in London, but not anymore :).
I always prefer to give my loved once food I make at home but sometimes is hard to find really good recipe for some foods. You have a lot of good recipes,can’t wait to try few more.
Hi Renata! I’m SO GLAD you and your daughter enjoyed it! Homemade tastes way better! Thank you very much for taking the time to come back and let me know and SUPER EXCITED you are going to give my recipes a try.
I just finished frying this chin chin. its da bomb; best chin chin recipe ever. Thanks
The best chin chin recipe I’ve ever tried! My toddler couldn’t get enough of it.
Aww thanks , that is so kind of you.
Please how do I cut my chinchin to get strands, I want it in strands not dicing. Will be glad if you can give me an hint. Tks.
Lilian, check out this other post here http://africanbites.com/?p=8200
Am glad I got this recipe. Its my sons 1st birthday come May 10th. I will surely try out the recipe and feed you back. Bless you.
Thanks Lilian! Please let me know how it works for you!
Please with this ingredients can it be soft cos I want to fry soft chin chin tomorrow, I need your answer pls
Chidinma, it depends on how soft you want your chin chin. This is not too soft nor hard.
This is such a great recipe! Thank you so much for this! This was the first recipe I have used to make chinchin and i’m so happy that it works! I changed it a little by adding more sugar and didn’t add lime zest but everything else is perfect. My friends all love my chinchin. Thank you for this!
Thanks for the feedback so glad it was a hit with your friends.
Hi immaculate. U rock. I have never felt this confident before. My chin chin cameout superb tthanks to you. I also made puff puff and it did not soak oil even one bit. Thanks a lot. My doughnuts had no oil but in d inside it was not fried
That’s not bad cos it was my first trial. Thumps up. Thanks
Hey Elizabeth, thanks for reporting back. It is good to know you are becoming a pro in the kitchen. Next time make sure the oil is not too hot. Reduce heat if doughnuts are browning too fast. Happy New Year.
These tasted so good. Making more of these for the holidays . Thanks again
Glad you liked them . Happy holidays
Thanks Imma for this recipe.i grew up in a home where chin chin was made every December but I must say that this is the best and straight to the point chin chin recipe I have ever seen.i just did it and it came out superb.my hubby n kids loved it.i’m indeed thankful for your blog
Rose, thanks for taking the time to say thanks. Happy thanksgiving!
I love your website, it is clean and the photos are good.
More importantly, keep the simplicity with the recipes, they make life easier for bachelorettes and other learners.
This is great, keep it up, sis!
Aww,thanks Femo. Really appreciate you taking the time to comment. Don’t forget to subscribe! Spell check keep changing your name when I input it. Now its fix.
I tried this recipe last night and my kids and my husband think that I am a chin chin goddess or something. I’ve been looking for a good chin chin recipe for a long time and this is it. Thanks so much and thanks for including detailed measurements, helps a lot.
Hope, so happy to hear this.! Thanks for taking the time to comment – it means a lot to me.
Aww ,Thanks Ayla. The lime Zest packs a lot citrus flavor into this chin-chin without the bitterness. If you prefer you can omit the zest and double the nutmeg flavor. Thanks for stopping by!
Love your blog so much. Tried a few of your recipes already and the finished products were fab. I’ll be trying this one out but just wondered about the inclusion of the lemon zest.
Lovely, i will try this method, but ma is there no simple way to cut the chin chine.
You might try using a pasta machine