The beauty of street food...

I find that street food has a unique delicious taste that’s different from home made food.  There’s also an art form to making it. Which is what drew me to learn how to make the popular street snack ‘Puff-Puff’, from a local street food seller in Lagos, Nigeria. It’s a staple snack often eaten at parties and it’s a great comfort food that can be eaten in all seasons.

Puff-Puff for me, is more than just a street food. It’s a food that’s embedded with nostalgic stories of many Lagosians, runnning through generations. Stories of people being offered Puff-Puff at social gatherings as they spend quality time with loved ones. My fond memories of eating this snack comes from the naming ceremonies and weddings I've attended over the years. They were memorable times that I still remember to this day. So, anytime I crave a comfort food to fill me with warmth, I undoubtedly choose Puff-Puff.

Since Puff-Puff comes from Lagos, I thought it could be interesting to give you a brief history of Lagos, the town of this beautiful snack! See below for more details.

A Brief History of Lagos:
Lagos has a rich cultural history. The city has links to Brazil and Cuba dating back to the 1830s when some emancipated Africans moved back to Lagos to settle there. These links are still prevalent there today. The name Lagos, is Portuguese for ‘Lakes’ and was given its name by the Portuguese explorer 'Ruy de Sequeira', who initially named the area around the city, ‘Lago de Curamo’.

One of the main languages spoken in Lagos is Yoruba, a language spoken by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. It is also a language spoken in Brazil today and is taught as part of the academic curriculum.