Warm the coconut milk Pour the coconut milk into a small pan and warm it over low heat until it feels just warm on the back of your finger, not hot.
02
Mix the dry ingredients In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, ground cardamom, instant yeast and a pinch of salt until evenly mixed.
03
Form the dough Pour in the warm coconut milk and the tablespoon of oil, and mix with your hand until everything comes together into a soft, slightly sticky dough.
04
Knead the dough Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about ten minutes, until it is smooth, soft and springs back when pressed.
05
Let the dough rise Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a clean cloth, and leave it in a warm place for about an hour and a half, until it has doubled in size.
06
Roll and cut Punch the dough down, divide it into four pieces, roll each one into a circle about one centimetre thick, and cut each circle into six triangles.
07
Rest the shaped pieces Lay the triangles on a floured tray, cover them loosely with a cloth, and let them rest for about fifteen minutes so they puff slightly.
08
Heat the oil Heat the frying oil in a deep, heavy pot over medium heat to about one hundred and seventy degrees Celsius.
09
Fry in batches Slide in five or six pieces at a time and fry for about two minutes on each side, turning them, until they puff up and turn golden brown all over.
10
Drain and serve Lift the mandazi out with a slotted spoon, let them drain on a rack or paper for a few minutes, then serve them warm with chai.
Mandazi are lightly sweet fried dough pieces flavoured with cardamom and coconut milk, made in homes and sold at roadside stalls along the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast. The coastal version is yeast-raised, which gives it a soft, airy inside. People eat them warm with spiced chai for breakfast or as an afternoon snack.
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Method
1
Warm the coconut milk
Pour the coconut milk into a small pan and warm it over low heat until it feels just warm on the back of your finger, not hot.
Milk that is too hot will kill the yeast. On the coast the milk is squeezed from freshly grated coconut, but a good tinned coconut milk works well.
Warm the coconut milk · 1 min
2
Mix the dry ingredients
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, ground cardamom, instant yeast and a pinch of salt until evenly mixed.
If you only have active dry yeast, stir it into the warm coconut milk with a teaspoon of the sugar and wait ten minutes until it foams before adding it.
3
Form the dough
Pour in the warm coconut milk and the tablespoon of oil, and mix with your hand until everything comes together into a soft, slightly sticky dough.
4
Knead the dough
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about ten minutes, until it is smooth, soft and springs back when pressed.
If the dough is too dry to come together, add a tablespoon of water at a time. Do not add too much flour, or the mandazi will be dense.
Knead the dough · 10 min
5
Let the dough rise
Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a clean cloth, and leave it in a warm place for about an hour and a half, until it has doubled in size.
Let the dough rise · 90 min
6
Roll and cut
Punch the dough down, divide it into four pieces, roll each one into a circle about one centimetre thick, and cut each circle into six triangles.
7
Rest the shaped pieces
Lay the triangles on a floured tray, cover them loosely with a cloth, and let them rest for about fifteen minutes so they puff slightly.
Rest the shaped pieces · 15 min
8
Heat the oil
Heat the frying oil in a deep, heavy pot over medium heat to about one hundred and seventy degrees Celsius.
Without a thermometer, drop in a small scrap of dough. It should sink briefly, then rise and sizzle steadily within a few seconds. If it browns instantly, the oil is too hot and the inside will stay raw.
Heat the oil · 10 min
9
Fry in batches
Slide in five or six pieces at a time and fry for about two minutes on each side, turning them, until they puff up and turn golden brown all over.
Do not crowd the pot, or the oil cools and the mandazi turn greasy. Let the oil come back to temperature between batches.
Fry in batches · 4 min
10
Drain and serve
Lift the mandazi out with a slotted spoon, let them drain on a rack or paper for a few minutes, then serve them warm with chai.