National Dish Burkina Faso: Klouikloui (Recipe)
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Klouikloui is a peanut ring: roasted groundnuts ground to a paste, seasoned with chilli and onion, shaped into loops and fried until crisp. It is sold in stacks threaded on string at every Burkinabè market, and it is one of those snacks that is difficult to stop eating once the bowl is open.
About Klouikloui
Klouikloui is the crisp peanut ring of Burkina Faso. Shaped from ground roasted peanuts and fried to a deep gold, this savoury snack is found at every West African market. Crunchy, nutty and lightly spiced, klouikloui works perfectly as a snack between meals or as an accompaniment, the fried cousin of kuli kuli, made across the Sahel from the same paste.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 200 g roasted peanuts, unsalted
- 1 small onion, very finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground chilli or cayenne, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- 2–3 tablespoons water, to bind
- Vegetable oil, for frying
Shopping for the ingredients
Unsalted roasted peanuts are what you want, salted ones make the snack inedible once reduced. Buying them raw and roasting them yourself gives the best flavour, and takes ten minutes in a hot oven. Groundnut oil is the traditional frying medium and suits the flavour.
Preparing the dish
Grind the peanuts to a paste and then squeeze out as much oil as you can. This is the crucial step, and it is done by pressing handfuls of the paste in a cloth or fine sieve. The drier the paste, the crisper the finished ring. Save the extracted oil for the frying.
Step-by-step instructions
- Grind the roasted peanuts to a thick, oily paste in a food processor.
- Press the paste in a cloth to squeeze out as much oil as possible; keep the oil.
- Mix the pressed paste with the onion, chilli and salt.
- Add the water a spoonful at a time until it holds together like a stiff dough.
- Roll into thin ropes and join the ends into rings about 6 cm across.
- Heat the oil to 170°C in a deep pan.
- Fry the rings in batches for 3–4 minutes until deep golden and firm.
- Drain on paper and cool completely — they crisp as they cool.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Klouikloui is naturally gluten-free and lactose-free. Nothing but peanuts, onion, spice and oil. No adaptation is required for either restriction.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
The snack is vegan as written and is a genuinely dense source of plant protein, which is part of why it has such a firm place in Sahelian diets. Nothing needs substituting.
More tips and tricks
Press out as much oil as you can. This single step decides whether the rings turn out crisp or greasy. Keep the frying oil steady at 170°C; too hot and they brown before they set. And let them cool fully before judging the texture, since they firm up considerably.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Ginger or garlic in the paste adds depth. More chilli is standard in northern Burkina Faso. Shaping the paste into sticks or small balls instead of rings makes kuli kuli, which is the same thing under a different name.
Ingredient substitutions
Cashews or a peanut-cashew mix work, though peanuts are traditional. Groundnut oil is best for frying; sunflower oil is fine. Smoked paprika can replace some of the chilli for a milder version.
Drink pairing ideas
Bissap, the hibiscus drink, is the classic West African pairing and its acidity cuts the richness. Ginger juice works the same way. A cold beer suits it as a bar snack.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve klouikloui piled in a bowl or, as at the markets, threaded onto string in stacks. They keep for a week in an airtight tin and are eaten straight from the hand, alongside a bowl of tô or on their own with a cold drink.
A bit of history
Groundnuts are one of the Sahel’s most important crops, and the region has developed an entire family of preparations from the pressed paste that remains after the oil is extracted. Nothing is wasted: the oil is cooked with, the pressed cake becomes klouikloui or kuli kuli. The snack is sold by women traders across Burkina Faso, Niger and northern Nigeria. It offers a genuine window onto Burkinabè cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Klouikloui
Klouikloui is roasted peanut paste, pressed dry, spiced, shaped into rings and fried crisp. Squeeze out the oil, fry at a steady 170°C, and let them cool before you taste them.
