Atchomon

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 100 gsugar
• 100 gbutter or margarine, softened
• 2eggs
• about 120 ml milk or water
• 1 tspbaking powder
• ½ tspsalt
• 1 tspgrated nutmeg

To fry

• oil, for deep frying

Optional

• grated zest of 1 lime
• 1 tspground ginger
• a splash of vanilla

To serve

• cold, from a jar, as a snack

Directions

1. Rub the softened butter into the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg with your fingertips. Work it through until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs with no lumps of fat remaining. Add the liquid a little at a time and stop as soon as it forms a firm dough.
2. Use as little liquid as will bring it together, since a wet dough is difficult to roll thin and it absorbs far more oil in the fryer. Knead it briefly on the work surface, only until it is smooth and no longer cracking. Do not knead it at length, since developing the gluten makes it tough and chewy rather than short and crisp.
3. Use it generously and grate it fresh if you can, since pre-ground nutmeg loses almost everything within weeks. Wrap the dough and rest it for 30 minutes at room temperature. Now roll it out on a lightly floured surface to about 3 mm thick.
4. Roll it thin and evenly, since thickness is what decides whether it comes out crunchy or cakey. Cut it into diamonds, small squares or thin strips, roughly 2 cm across. Keep them small, since they are eaten by the handful rather than one at a time. Some cooks cut strips and twist each one, which gives a more decorative result and takes considerably longer.
5. Keep the temperature moderate throughout, since these need long enough to dry out and crisp all the way through. Hot oil colours the outside within a minute while the centre stays soft, and the result goes stale within days.
6. Fry them for 4 to 6 minutes until deep golden brown and genuinely hard. Lift one out and let it cool for a moment, then bite it: it should snap rather than bend. If it is at all soft in the middle it needs longer, and this is what decides how well the batch keeps.
7. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and drain them on a rack rather than on paper. They must be entirely cold and dry, since any warmth trapped in a jar turns to condensation and the whole batch goes soft. Serve them as a snack with a cold drink, and they are also given to children and taken on journeys.

Technique

• Chin chin in Nigeria and Ghana is essentially the same thing.
• The hard crunchy version keeps far longer than the soft cakey one.
• They must be completely cold before going into a jar.

Substitutions

• Margarine in place of butter, which is what most households use.
• Water in place of milk, which gives a crisper result.

Variations

• Made soft and cakey, with more butter and thicker cutting.
• Twisted into strips rather than cut into diamonds.
• With coconut worked into the dough.

Frequently asked questions

What is Atchomon?

Atchomon is a snack from Togo: crunchy fried dough nibbles, Togolese chin chin.

How long does Atchomon take to make?

Atchomon takes 30 min plus 30 min resting of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 800 g. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Atchomon?

Yes, within limits. Margarine in place of butter, which is what most households use. Water in place of milk, which gives a crisper result.

What is the most important thing to get right in Atchomon?

Use as little liquid as will bring it together, since a wet dough is difficult to roll thin and it absorbs far more oil in the fryer. Knead it briefly on the work surface, only until it is smooth and no longer cracking. Do not knead it at length, since developing the gluten makes it tough and chewy rather than short and crisp.