How to Make Nigerian Buns (Recipe & Video)

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If you know how to make the Nigerian puff-puff then you certainly must learn how to make, its twin, the Nigerian buns and add it to your culinary portfolio.

The Nigerian buns is a ball-shaped bun that is crunchy outside and soft on the inside. Quite similar to the Nigerian puff puff in both appearance and preparation, the buns is less oily, weighs more than the puff puff and most times, is not as smooth.
The Nigerian buns can be eaten as a quick snack, at events, in the bus, on the street, or any other place one finds oneself. It is an incredible Nigerian snack loved by millions.

How to Make Nigerian Buns

Making buns at home is easy. It will only require half an hour of your time to make this crunchy finger food from the comfort of your home.

This recipe shows how to make the Nigerian buns with and without dairy or eggs, in addition to a touch of spice for a fluffier and better taste that are hard to resist.
The best part about this guide on how to prepare buns is the fact that you can place all ingredients together in the same bowl, mix and fry your perfect meal.

With the right instructions, making homemade Nigerian buns can be as simple as boiling water.

Materials needed

Frying Pan
Paper Towel
Rolling Stick / Wooden spatula
Mixing Bowl (Medium size)
Ice cream scoop
Turning fork
Perforated Spoon

Ingredients

400 grams All purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
175 grams granulated sugar
2 tablespoons evaporated milk or 1 tablespoon powdered milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 – 1.5 cups of lukewarm water (for mixing)
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (for the authentic taste)
100g melted butter (optional)
2 eggs (optional)
Vegetable Oil (for deep frying)

Recipe Info

Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 35 mins
Servings: 20 – 25

First things to do/note

Coat your hands with flour first if you’re kneading your dough with your hands.
The dough bloats in heating oil, so you might want to calculate the size before its introduced to the oil and after.
Be careful not to fry the buns in extremely hot oil. It will brown the outside of the buns while keeping the inside raw. If you find that your oil is too hot while frying, just add a little bit of room temperature oil to the hot oil to bring down the temperature.
Allow the buns mixture to rest for about 10 minutes before frying. This will allow the gluten in the flour to relax before frying.

Steps

Making buns with dairy

Step 1: Find a deep medium sized bowl to prepare all the ingredients.
Step 2: Sift together the flour, baking powder (or yeast), nutmeg and salt. Mix everything in a bowl till it’s all well combined (still in powder state. Don’t add water).
Step 3: Whisk your eggs and add the melted butter; then mix well.
Step 4: Make a space in the middle of your dry mixture (in step 2) and empty your egg and butter mixture (in step 3) into it.
Step 5: Mix it all together till it looks lumpy and well combined.
Step 6: Add sugar and milk to the cup of lukewarm water.
Step 7: Stir well to make sure your sugar dissolves totally and evenly. Make a space in the centre of your lumpy mixture (in step 5), add cayenne pepper and slowly empty your liquid mixture (in step 6) into it.
Step 8: Stir vigorously as you empty the liquid content till it gives you a sticky and tough stretchy dough.
Step 9: Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the dough to breathe and rise.
Step 10: In a frying pan, heat your vegetable oil in medium heat. You’ll need a good layer of oil, a couple of centimeters high.
Step 11: Use your hand or an ice cream scoop drop the batter into the heating oil without overcrowding the pan.
Step 12: Let it fry for about 4-5 minutes till it turns golden brown on every side. Use a turning spoon or fork to stir the balls while frying them.
Step 13: With a perforated spoon, transfer the fried buns unto a paper towel to absorb the excess oil and leave to cool.
NB: All steps listed above are to be followed if you wish to add milk, egg or butter.

Video: How to make Nigerian buns

Making buns without dairy

In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt.
Add water to the mix about ¼th of cup at a time, mixing lightly each time until a consistent thick muffin-like batter is achieved.
Depending on your flour, you might need more or less than 1- 1 ½ cups of water. Be careful not to overmix as this might make the buns hard.
Continue with steps 9 – 13 in the aforementioned recipe for buns with dairy.

Serving suggestions

You can enjoy eating the buns alone or serve with a cup of tea for a perfect breakfast, party, lunch, or dinner meal.

Important health notes about Nigerian buns

The main ingredient in the Nigerian buns is enriched flour and it is classified in the staples group in the Nigerian food groups. Bun provides mainly carbohydrates.
Persons with diabetes and kidney problems should be guided by a registered nutrition professional as to the amount and type of buns to be consumed.
A person with diabetes whose blood sugar is normal or close to normal is allowed to exchange a slice of bun with one serving of staple at each meal.
Consuming bun and all foods in the staples group may result in weight gain, as excess glucose is stored as fat.
Research shows that eating fewer starchy foods like bread and pastries decreases the risk of getting type 2 diabetes. Generally speaking, eating any kind of carbohydrate raises blood sugar levels. As such, buns should be consumed in moderation.

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