Street Snack · Fried Dough Balls

Bofrot

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Ghanaians and Nigerians argue over the name, but bofrot and puff-puff are the exact same fried dough ball under two different names.

A soft, sweetened yeast dough spiced with nutmeg is scooped by hand straight into hot oil, where it puffs into golden, craggy-surfaced balls with a fluffy interior. Vendors fry it in big woks along Ghana's roadsides and markets, scooping the hot balls into paper bags for an on-the-go snack or breakfast side.

Why it's made this way: The hand-scooped, no-mold shaping is what gives bofrot its irregular, craggy shape, and the same nutmeg-spiced dough recipe traveled with traders along the West African coast, resurfacing under different names in Nigeria, Cameroon, and beyond.