Kenyan Doughnuts – Mandazi

I remember the first time I made Kenyan doughnuts – mandazi – for my kids. They fell instantly in love. They are quite different from the Canadian or American ones. The East African ones called Mandazi or Mahamri, are generally crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. They are not too sweet and have spices and coconut milk incorporated into them.

The Ingredients for Kenyan Doughnuts – Mandazi

Take some flour, some milk, some yeast, and a couple of spices. What do you get? A delicious dessert or snack.

The Ingredients List for Kenyan Doughnuts – Mandazi

• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cardamom 
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
• Oil for frying

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The Dough for Kenyan Doughnuts – Mandazi

This is a typical yeast dough, so we need to let the yeast bloom before we do anything else.

• Let us start by heating 1/2 cup milk to about 110 degrees F.
• Add 2 teaspoons of yeast and 1/2 cup of sugar into the milk and mix it all together.
• Let it sit for about 10 minutes so the yeast blooms and doubles in size.

I like to use coconut sugar, but you can use regular white sugar. I find using coconut sugar gives it that extra flavour. It also gives the dough a slightly golden brown colour. I also find that coconut sugar is less sweet and so the mandazi are not as sweet as they would be with regular sugar.

The Dry Ingredients

While the yeast is blooming, in a large mixing bowl, mix together:

• Three cups of flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• And 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds (if using).

• Once the yeast has bloomed, add the liquid to the dry ingredients.
• Add 1 cup of coconut milk at the same time and mix everything together to form a dough.
• Knead the dough for about 5 minutes and cover it with a damp cloth and allow it to sit and rise for about one hour or so.

What is Coconut Sugar?

Coconut sugar is made from the sap of the palm flower. It is less sweet than sugar and has a slightly caramelly flavour to it. It’s quite similar to brown sugar. Coconut sugar is used in dessert recipes in various Asian countries where coconut or palm trees are commonplace. I use it in my pancake recipes, cookie recipes, and replace white sugar with coconut sugar whenever any recipe calls for a little sugar to take off the edge.

The Final Kenyan Doughnuts – Mandazi

Now that our dough has risen, we can make our dessert.

• Punch out the air from the dough and cut the dough into two equal parts.
• Roll out each of the pieces into about 1/4 inch thick circular discs.
• Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into triangular pieces. Alternatively, you can roll out each piece into the desired shape and size.

The shape is arbitrary. Generally, in Kenya, these are made on a mass scale and it’s easier to just roll and cut the dough into triangles. But, when I’m not in a rush and want to please the kids, I use a cookie cutter. The kids enjoy making shapes out of them like one would cookies.

Frying the Kenyan Mandazi

Once we have cut or rolled the doughnuts, we are ready to fry them.

• In a large deep pan or a wok, add enough oil so the dough has room to move around.
• Heat the oil to about 325 degrees F.
• Fry the dough on one side until it is golden brown and then flip it over and fry the other side till both sides are golden brown.
• Do not over crowd the oil or it will go cold quickly and the dough will absorb the oil.

The Coconut Chocolate Sauce

Enjoy the freshly made Kenyan style mahamri with a side of my chocolate sauce. Replace the half and half in the chocolate sauce recipe with coconut milk. This coconut chocolate dipping sauce is a perfect accompaniment to the snack.

Tried and Liked the Recipe?

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