Mandazi
Fried little donuts are a very popular street food throughout Africa. In West African countries, they make little donut holes called puff puff. In East African countries, they make a similar donut called mandazi. Mandazi are cut into triangular shapes. They have the flavors of coconut, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Sometimes you will see them with a side of caramel sauce to dip them in.This is a simplified version of the donut. The original version has yeast in the recipe, needing time for the mandazi to rise. There is also a baked version for those who don’t want to fry. I will touch base on these in future posts.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 tbsp shredded coconut
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- vegetable oil for frying
- 1 tbsp powdered sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Mix together all of the dry ingredients.
- Mix together all of the wet ingredients.
- Mix together all of the wet and dry ingredients until a dough is formed.
- Roll out dough to 1/2” thick on a lightly floured surface.
- Cut triangular shapes out of the dough.
- Fill up a small pot with an 1 1/2 of cooking oil over medium high heat. If using a thermometer, the oil should read 350 degrees. Add a few of the dough triangles to the oil. You will need to cook these in batches.
- Fry for about 2 minutes a side. Drain on paper towel.
- Sprinkle the powdered sugar/cinnamon mix over the donuts while still warm.
