Beetroot Chin Chin

What makes Beetroot Chin Chin special?

It’s a combination of two of the best foods you need to try – beetroot and chin chin!

Chin Chin is a popular fried snack in Nigeria and Ghana. This dish is usually enjoyed by kids and adults as biscuits. Many people from all over the world love chin chin because of its crispy, crunchy, and tasty quality.

Meanwhile, beetroots are veggies with sweet and earthy flavors. These add a deep red color to the chin chin for an inviting snack. In fact, they also add health benefits to this recipe.

Put beetroots and chin chin together for one of the best snacks you can make at home! Let me tell you everything you need to know about Beetroot Chin Chin.

How to Make Beetroot Chin Chin

If you think Chin Chin is delicious on its own, then wait until you try it with beetroot. In this Beetroot Chin Chin recipe, you will learn how to transform them into amazing snacks!

Ingredients

Here’s a list of everything you need to make Beetroot Chin Chin:

Beetroot

I love adding beetroot to my recipes because of how sweet and earthy it tastes. Even its deep red color can make any recipe inviting. It’s also easy to prepare and add to dishes and drinks.

You can eat the beetroot raw or cooked. I suggest using raw beetroot for salads, smoothies, and juices. On the other hand, you can cook beetroot into chin chin or other recipes.

It’s an amazing source of vitamins and minerals. I especially love this for Beetroot Apple Juice or Beet Juice to unleash its natural goodness!

Plain flour

Plain flour will help you give the chin chin the proper shape and texture. You can mold the dough into different shapes for fun and creative snacks.

It is perfectly safe to use plain flour for frying food. In fact, I also use it for Banana Puff Puff, Crispy Hotdogs, and Pan Fried Fish Fillet.

Powdered milk

Don’t skip the powdered milk because it will give the dish a creamy and soft texture. The mildly sweet taste will pair well with the flavor of beetroots.

I use powdered milk for other fried recipes, such as Nigerian Coconut Buns, Puff Puff, and Nigerian Egg Rolls.

Salted butter

Salted butter helps with prolonging the shelf life of any dish. Wouldn’t you want to keep snacking on these beetroot chin chin for weeks? It even balances out the sweetness. 

Egg

Since you won’t need baking powder or yeast, the egg can make the perfect leavening agent for this recipe. It also gives you perfectly texture chinchin crumbs. 

Seasoning

To make it more flavorful, condiments like sugar, nutmeg, and sea salt can make a difference. They can even enhance the overall quality of the chinchin. 

Sunflower oil 

Chin chin can take a while to cook, so opt for sunflower oil or other oils with high smoke points. This can help preserve the nutrients of the recipe. 

Who knew that making your snacks only requires these simple ingredients, right? Wait until we get to the fun part of actually making it! 

Directions

Here’s how you can make beetroot Chin Chin – one of the best African snacks ever!

1. Peel and grate the beetroot.
2. Use a blender to blend the beetroot until smooth.
3. Combine the plain flour, milk powder, sea salt, sugar, and nutmeg in a bowl.
4. Add butter, egg, and pureed beetroot.
5. Massage the ingredients together until they form a dough. 
6. Roll out the dough to about 0.55 mm using a rolling pin.
7. Slice it into quarters using a dough cutter or knife.
8. Fry the chin chin dough for 6 to 8 minutes and in batches.
9. Remove them from heat using a skimmer.

A healthy and tantalizing snack with basic ingredients, simple steps, and nutritional benefits! And it’s not just a snack, you can even make it your brand! 

Tips

Beetroot

Selection

• According to The Spruce Eats, fresh beetroots are best used within 2 days.
• For sweetness, choose small beetroots with a rich red color.
• The skin and leaves should have no signs of wilting.
• Make sure that the taproot is still intact.

Storage

1. Trim off the leaves two inches above the root.
2. Wrap them in paper towels.
3. Then place them in the crisper drawer of your fridge to last up to 3 weeks. Don’t wash them before storing them. 

You can also pre-blend the beetroots to freeze. Pour the pureed fruits into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. Transfer into freezer bags and thaw at room temperature when needed. 

Preparation

1. Remove an inch of the stem and leaves to retain the color.
2. Rinse it and rub off the skin using a paper towel.
3. It may tend to bleed, so it is best to wear gloves and an apron. 

No-Blender Beetroot Puree

To achieve a fine texture, boil the beetroot in a pot or soften it using a steaming basket. Slice it into pieces with a knife and boil it with water for 25 minutes over medium-low heat. Pierce with a fork to check for doneness. 

Alternatively, you can bake them in the oven at 375°F for an hour. Cut the beetroot into pieces and rub each piece with oil. Wrap them in aluminum foil and let them bake until soft. You can also use a food processor. 

How to Handle Dough

• If the dough is too sticky, then add more flour or use gluten-free options such as almond flour to solve this. 
• Use the right amount and kind of flour and sufficient duration for kneading.
• Check the dough for doneness by spreading a bit of dough between your fingers. If they do not break apart, it is ready to use. 

Beetroot Chin Chin Variations

This recipe is vegan-friendly, but due to some ingredients, it is not gluten-free or lactose-free. You can substitute the ingredients for elements that are best suited for your diet. 

For instance, you can use almond flour or dry yeast instead of plain flour. Moreover, there are already lactose-free butter brands available in supermarkets. Even powdered milk has lactose-free versions. 

Alternatively, you can season it with other ingredients like chocolate powder, coconut, or vanilla. 

Alternative Ways to Cook Chin Chin

Aside from frying, you can also bake or air-fry these snacks. 

Air fryer

1. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F for a few minutes.
2. Arrange the sliced dough in the greased basket.
3. It is best to cook them in batches.
4. Then, air fry each batch for up to 15 minutes.
5. Toss it around after 7 minutes. 

Oven

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Grease the lined baking tray with butter or oil and distribute the dough on top.
3. Then, bake the chin chin for up to 15 minutes.

Recommended Tools

• Blender: Puree the beetroot using a blender.
• Frying pan: Fry the sliced dough in the pan over the stove. 
• Pizza Cutter: Cut the dough using this tool. 
• Bowls: Prepare and combine ingredients in bowls. 
• Skimmer spoon: Toss the frying dough around for even doneness. 
• Cooling wire rack: Press it onto the dough to serve as your guide. 
• Rolling pin: Flatten the dough with a rolling pin. 
• Whisk: Mix the ingredients with a whisk. 
• Sieve: Filter the dry components with a sieve. 

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn commission income from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information.

Visit my shop for more products.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I earn commission income from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Please read the full disclosure for more information.

How to Serve Beetroot Chin Chin

This dish is best served as a snack or even as an appetizer during meals. In fact, you can put them in plastic cups, bowls, or jars for the complete snacking experience. Furthermore, you can use this recipe to start your own food business. 

For a complete experience, you can serve it with Fresh Beetroot Juice or combine this drink with pineapple, ginger, or apples! 

Storage Tips

• At room temperature: Put the beetroot chin chin in plastic bags or airtight containers for up to several weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Beetroot Chin Chin healthy?

Yes, it is healthy because it has the nutrients of a root vegetable while retaining the form of chin chin. It’s a snack with powerful antioxidants and vitamins to aid in normal blood pressure, physical activity, and digestion. 

Why is the chin chin moist?

To achieve a crunchy texture, measure the ingredients properly, especially the powdered milk and sugar. Also, do not skip the egg to make it crispy and crunchy! Moreover, toss it around the oil and cook it in batches to prevent a soggy texture. 

What are the side effects of too much beetroot?

Beetroot is healthy but excessive consumption can cause discoloration in urine and feces. Fortunately, this is completely normal and temporary when consuming beetroot. 

However, this is not recommended for people with low blood sugar and patients at high risk for kidney stones and complications. 

How much of this snack can you have every day?

Limit your beetroot chin chin intake to one cup per day.