Funkaso

Funkaso (Hausa Fried Wheat Dumplings)

Savoury, yeast-leavened wheat dumplings from northern Nigeria, fried golden and crisp on the outside with a soft, airy centre. Traditionally sold by street vendors and eaten as a snack or dunked into peppery soups.

Prep

20 min

Cook

15 min

Total

35 min

Serves

4 (makes about 20 dumplings)

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •400 g (14 oz (about 3⅓ cups)) plain wheat flour, all-purpose or fine Nigerian flour; do not use bread flour
• •7 g (1 packet (2¼ tsp)) instant dry yeast, or 20 g fresh yeast
• •5 g (1 tsp) granulated sugar, feeds the yeast
• •350 ml (1¼ cups + 2 tbsp) warm water, around 38°C / 100°F; not hot
• •60 g (½ cup finely chopped) white onion, finely minced so it melts into the dough
• •1 whole (1 small) scotch bonnet pepper, finely chopped, seeds in or out to taste; substitute with habanero
• •5 g (1 tsp) fine salt
• •750 ml (3 cups) vegetable oil, for frying, groundnut (peanut) oil is most traditional; any neutral high-smoke-point oil works

Steps

1. 1 Make a sponge: in a large bowl whisk together the warm water, sugar and yeast, then stir in roughly 100 g (about ¾ cup) of the flour. Cover and leave in a warm spot for 10–15 minutes until foamy and risen.
2. 2 Add the remaining flour, chopped onion, chopped scotch bonnet and salt to the sponge. Mix with a wooden spoon, then switch to your hand and knead briefly in the bowl for about 2 minutes until you have a smooth, soft, slightly sticky dough - softer than bread dough, a little looser than pancake batter. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth.
3. 3 Leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until it is visibly puffed and has small bubbles on the surface. If your kitchen is cool, give it up to 90 minutes.
4. 4 Heat the oil in a deep, heavy pot to 175°C / 350°F (a small cube of bread should turn golden in about 60 seconds). Line a plate with paper towels.
5. 5 Punch the dough down gently. Traditional method: dip your fingers into the oil, pinch off a thumb-sized piece of dough, and flick it (Hausa: 'fun') from between your fingers into the hot oil. Easier home method: drop heaped teaspoons of dough into the oil, or pipe the dough from a piping bag or a plastic bag with a 1 cm corner snipped off.
6. 6 Fry 8–10 dumplings at a time without crowding the pot. They will sink, then float; turn them with a slotted spoon once the underside is deep golden, about 3–4 minutes total, until evenly browned and crisp.
7. 7 Drain on the paper-lined plate. Repeat with the remaining dough, adjusting the heat so the oil stays between 170–180°C / 340–355°F. Serve hot, on their own as a snack or alongside a bowl of pepper soup or miyan kuka. Funkyaso are best eaten the day they are fried; reheat briefly in a dry pan or 5 minutes at 180°C / 350°F oven.