Crunchy Kulikuli

Kuli-kuli refers to a West African snack that is primarily made from peanuts. First made by the Nupe People of West Africa it is a popular snack in Nigeria, Benin, northern Cameroon, and Ghana. It is often eaten alone or with a mixture of Garri also known as cassava flakes, sugar, and water popularly called "Garri soakings". It is also eaten with Hausa Koko, Fura, Kamu; and is sometimes ground and put into a salad. It is often ground as used as an ingredient for Suya and Kilishi.

To make Kuli-Kuli, peanuts are roasted and then ground into a paste called "Labu". The paste is then mixed with spices, salt, sometimes ground pepper, and occasionally sugar. The paste is stripped of excess oil with water and made into the desired shape (round balls, cylinders, etc.). Adding potash to the oil increases the boiling point of the oil. This results in oils being extracted from the kuli-kuli so that more liquid oil is created than when the process started. While being heated and fried, the shaped peanut paste begins to solidify and harden. It is then removed from the oil and allowed to cool down until ready to be eaten. It has a very long shelf life and is often given to children as a treat or sold in taxi parks by teenage girls to hungry travelers.

Kuli-Kuli (a groundnut/peanut cake) in Ghana just like in many parts of West Africa is a common crispy snack. The ingredients and shapes used however are not universal throughout the country. In the northern part of the country especially among the Mole-Dagomba people, Kuli kuli is made from the residue gotten from groundnuts during the extraction of groundnut oil. It is mostly found in the Zongo communities in Ghana.