Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 80 gsugar
- 7 ginstant yeast
- ½ tspsalt
- 2 tspground cardamom
- 250 mlcoconut milk
- 1egg
- 2 tbspmelted butter or oil
To fry
- oil, for deep frying
To serve
- mbaazi, coconut pigeon peas
- black tea with spices
Directions
- Grind whole cardamom pods yourself if you can, discarding the husks and using only the black seeds. Cardamom is the entire perfume of mahamri and ready-ground powder has usually lost most of it.
- Warm the coconut milk to blood temperature, no hotter. Coconut milk rather than water or dairy is what makes these Swahili coast pastries rather than generic doughnuts, and it gives the soft, slightly rich crumb.
- Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and cardamom, then work in the coconut milk, egg and melted butter to a soft dough.
- Knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and prove for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until doubled. Divide the dough into balls of about 100 g and roll each into a round disc about 5 mm thick.
- Cut each disc into quarters with a sharp knife, giving four triangles. Cut them into triangles rather than rounds. Let the cut triangles rest 15 minutes on a floured tray. Rest them after cutting. Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F), which is deliberately moderate.
- Fry 2 to 3 minutes a side until golden brown and visibly puffed. Too hot and they brown before the inside cooks, leaving a raw seam in the middle.
- Drain them on a rack rather than paper, which keeps the underside from going soggy. Serve warm with mbaazi, coconut-stewed pigeon peas, which is the classic pairing for breakfast.
Technique
- Mandazi is the closely related East African version, often rounder and without coconut milk.
- They stale quickly and are eaten the day they are fried.
- The dough can be proved overnight in the fridge and fried in the morning.
Substitutions
- Whole milk in place of coconut milk, which gives a plainer pastry.
- Ground cardamom, using rather more than the recipe calls for.
Variations
- Mandazi, the round East African relative.
- With grated coconut worked through the dough.
- Made savoury, without the sugar, to eat with curry.
History
A Swahili coast pastry that reached the Comoros with Indian Ocean trade, cooked for breakfast and Ramadan.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mahamri?
Mahamri is a snack from Comoros: cardamom-scented fried dough puffs eaten with tea or beans. A Swahili coast pastry that reached the Comoros with Indian Ocean trade, cooked for breakfast and Ramadan.
How long does Mahamri take to make?
Mahamri takes 30 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 24. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Mahamri?
Yes, within limits. Whole milk in place of coconut milk, which gives a plainer pastry. Ground cardamom, using rather more than the recipe calls for.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mahamri?
Grind whole cardamom pods yourself if you can, discarding the husks and using only the black seeds. Cardamom is the entire perfume of mahamri and ready-ground powder has usually lost most of it.
