Back to Desserts
Kuli-Kuli (Roasted Peanut Sticks)
Serves 400 Prep 1 hr Cook 15 min Total 1 hr 15 min Type Dessert Origin Nigerian

Kuli-Kuli (Roasted Peanut Sticks)

Northern Nigeria's peanut snack: roasted peanuts ground to a paste, pressed of their oil, shaped into sticks and deep-fried golden and crunchy.

Makes 400 g Prep 1 hour (mostly hands-on grinding and pressing) Cook 15 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Raw peanuts toast in a dry pan 10 min till deep gold and fragrant; skins rub off. The roasted peanuts pulse to a coarse paste, then a fine paste, eventually the oil starts to release. The paste squeezes hard in clean cloths to extract the oil; the de-oiled paste tightens into a clay-like dough seasoned with salt, ground chilli, ground ginger. Shapes into thin sticks or small rings. Deep-fries in vegetable oil 3-4 minutes till deep gold.

Ingredients

  • 500 g raw peanuts (red-skin or blanched both work)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground chilli powder (cayenne or African pepper)
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder (optional)
  • 500 ml neutral oil (for frying)

Method

Stage 1 - Roast

  1. Spread the peanuts in a dry skillet over medium heat.
  2. Toast 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until deep gold and fragrant.
  3. Tip onto a clean tea towel; rub vigorously to remove most of the skins.
  4. Pick out the peanuts; discard the skins.

Stage 2 - Grind

  1. Pulse the warm peanuts in a food processor 1 minute to a coarse meal.
  2. Continue pulsing in long bursts (1-2 minutes) until the peanuts release their oil and the mixture becomes a thick wet paste.
  3. You'll hear the motor strain as it transitions from dry meal to oily paste - keep going.
  4. Total grinding time: 4-6 minutes.

Stage 3 - Press out oil

  1. Place the peanut paste in the centre of a clean fine-weave cloth (a flour-sack tea towel works).
  2. Gather the corners; twist hard over a bowl.
  3. Press and squeeze for 5-7 minutes - golden oil will run out into the bowl.
  4. Continue until very little oil emerges and the paste tightens to a clay-like dough.
  5. Save the pressed-out peanut oil (manshanu) - it's great for cooking.

Stage 4 - Season and shape

  1. Transfer the de-oiled paste to a bowl.
  2. Knead in the salt, chilli powder, ground ginger and optional onion powder.
  3. The dough should be pliable but not greasy.
  4. Roll small portions between palms into:
    • Thin sticks (15 cm long, 1 cm diameter), OR
    • Small rings (5 cm across, made by rolling a sausage and joining the ends), OR
    • Small coins (3 cm round, 1 cm thick).

Stage 5 - Fry

  1. Heat the oil to 170°C.
  2. Lower 6-8 pieces in at a time.
  3. Fry 3-4 minutes, turning once, until deep gold all over.
  4. Lift onto a wire rack lined with kitchen paper.

Stage 6 - Cool

  1. Cool completely before eating - kuli-kuli crisps as it cools.

Notes

  • The oil press is the technique: kuli-kuli's signature dry, slightly chalky texture depends on extracting the peanut oil. Skip the press and you've made peanut paste cookies, not kuli-kuli.
  • Save the oil (manshanu): the pressed-out oil is a Hausa cooking staple - flavour-rich and golden. Use it in stews, fried plantain, anywhere you'd use oil.
  • Spice level adjusts: classic kuli-kuli is mildly spicy. Northern Nigerians prefer it hotter; reduce chilli for southern Nigerian / international palates.
  • Use a fine-weave cloth: loose-weave cloths let peanut paste through with the oil. A flour-sack towel or several layers of cheesecloth tied tight work.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature.
  • Crisp deteriorates with humidity - store with a silica packet for longer life.
  • Don't refrigerate.

More like this

1 / 4