11 Tempting Snacks at Balogun Market

1. Kokoro

Kokoro is made from cornmeal chaff (after the starch has been removed to be made into pap), cooked and rolled into pencil-thin, slightly curvy sticks. It is hard and crunchy. Sometimes, it is very long – almost 12 inches in length.

2. Puff-puff

Puff-puff is a spongy, deep-fried, spherical snack that is very popular and often served as finger-food at parties and events. It is made from simple ingredients (flour, sugar and yeast) and is sold openly in markets.

3. Fresh coconuts

Nothing tastes better than fresh coconuts. Here, a woman is carrying a tray on her head with cut coconuts.

4. Chin-chin

Chin-chin comes in different sizes, shapes and containers. Since they are pastries that can be deep fried or baked, their sizes and shapes can vary depending on the mood of the chef. In the market, they are frequently found in airtight jars.

These flakes are some of the most common types of chin-chin; they are prepared slightly differently from the regular ones. The dough is thinly cut and fried, but not for too long so as to maintain its crisp, light brown look. The crispiness makes it a lot easy to bite on and chew.

When a buyer arrives, the chin-chin flakes can be measured out using a small tin cup and packaged and sealed in small, transparent cellophane bags. The number of bags sold depends on how much flakes the buyer wants.

Small bags of chin-chin are also available pre-packaged. The difference is usually in the shape of the chin-chin.

5. Shukshuk or Chukchuk

Shukshuk or Chukchuk is a local snack made from baked coconut and finished off with oil and butter. It gets its name from its hard, prickly nature as you bite it. In Nigeria, when something is prickly, it is called chuchuk or shukshuk.

6. Bottled beauties and bonbons

Coconut candy, white chin-chin, coconut candy flakes, and candied peanuts are delicious snacks and candies made from coconut, groundnut, and flour. They are sweetened with sugar and fried.

Their containers – old wine bottles – are filled to the brim and are put on display so that their new contents are clearly visible to everyone.

7. Dankuwa

Dankuwa is a local candy of Hausa origin. It is a combination of groundnuts and other nuts ground into a meal and pressed into little balls that melt on the tongue. It is held together with sugar, chili powder, oil and water just enough to bind the balls.

8. Peanuts

Candied peanuts are groundnuts covered with a sugar-like syrup and fried dry without oil. It is usually pinkish-purple. The skin of the groundnut is not peeled off and that's what gives it its colour.

9. Coconut balls

Coconut balls are whitish and are made using coconut flakes, sugar, egg yolk and bread crumbs. They are baked lightly and sold in cellophane bags, with 30-50 pieces in each one.

9. Local cookies with raisins

These are rough-edged, roundish cookies sometimes studded with raisins. They are made in the same way as Gurundi, apart from the raisin, and are usually softer.

10. Gurundi

Gurundi is a crispy Nigerian coconut biscuit that is popular in the southwest region of Nigeria. It is made by combining finely grated coconuts, sugar and cassava starch. Gurundi has uneven shades of brown and rough edges.

11. Doughnuts and egg rolls

Doughnuts and egg rolls are popular street snacks. They are usually prepared fresh every morning and sold hot. An egg roll is essentially a fried sweet dough with a whole boiled egg sitting in the middle.