Ingredients
Dough
- 600 gplain flour
- 100 gsugar
- 7 ginstant yeast
- 1 tspsalt
- 2 tspground cardamom
- 300 mlcoconut milk
- 1egg
- 3 tbspmelted butter
To fry
- oil, for deep frying
To serve
- chai, spiced milk tea
- beans or mbaazi
Directions
- Warm the coconut milk to blood heat, no more than that. Made with water they are plain fried bread; made with coconut milk they are soft, faintly sweet and unmistakably Swahili coast.
- Grind cardamom pods fresh and use only the black seeds inside. Mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and cardamom, then work in the coconut milk, egg and melted butter. Knead 8 minutes to a soft, smooth dough that is slightly tacky but not sticky.
- Cover and prove for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours until well risen and puffy. An under-proved mandazi is heavy and greasy, because a dense dough drinks oil instead of puffing away from it.
- Roll the dough out on a floured surface to about 1 cm thick. Cut it into triangles or squares, roughly 6 cm across, or into rounds with a cutter. Rest the cut pieces for 15 minutes before frying.
- Heat the oil to 170°C (340°F), and check it with a scrap of dough, which should rise and sizzle steadily rather than fiercely.
- Fry a few at a time, holding them under the surface for the first seconds with a slotted spoon. Turn them and fry 2 to 3 minutes a side until deep golden.
- Keep the oil moderate. Too hot and the outside is dark before the middle is cooked, leaving a doughy seam. Drain them on a rack so the steam escapes rather than softening the crust. Eat them warm with chai, or with mbaazi, coconut pigeon peas, for breakfast.
Technique
- They go stale by evening and are always eaten the day they are fried.
- Some cooks add a little grated nutmeg or cinnamon alongside the cardamom.
- 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 result.
- Baking powder instead of yeast for a quicker, denser mandazi.
Variations
- Mahamri, the triangular Swahili coast version.
- Made savoury, with the sugar reduced.
- With desiccated coconut worked through the dough.
History
Swahili coast fried bread raised with yeast, sweetened lightly and scented with coconut milk and cardamom.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mandazi?
Mandazi is a snack from Kenya: lightly sweet cardamom fried doughnut squares, chai companion. Swahili coast fried bread raised with yeast, sweetened lightly and scented with coconut milk and cardamom.
How long does Mandazi take to make?
Mandazi takes 25 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 30. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Mandazi?
Yes, within limits. Whole milk in place of coconut milk, which gives a plainer result. Baking powder instead of yeast for a quicker, denser mandazi.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mandazi?
Cover and prove for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours until well risen and puffy. An under-proved mandazi is heavy and greasy, because a dense dough drinks oil instead of puffing away from it.
