Mandazi (East African Doughnuts)
Mandazi are East African yeast doughnuts with the perfect amount of sweet spiciness and airy yeastiness. The coconut milk flavored with cardamom and grated coconut creates a breakfast-worthy snack perfect with a steaming cup of chai!
We enjoy all kinds of street food in Africa, whether East, West, or South. Most notable on the list is the undeniably popular puff puff in West Africa. On the other side of the continent, in the East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, you have the addictive mandazi (also known as maandazi, ndao, mahamri, and mamri).
I grew up eating puff puff, and then later, I was introduced to mandazi, which is similar to puff-puff. I was hooked on mandazi’s complexity that sets it apart from its Western counterpart. By the way, I’m so torn between my childhood snack and this new favorite. Someone help!
What Makes Mandazi a Different Doughnut
Mandazi, a spicy (flavor-packed, not hot), airy yeast dough made with coconut milk, is a nice way to introduce you to the joys of East African street food. While a lot of cultures use coconut, not everyone pairs it with cardamom.
This versatile treat can be made with yeast or baking powder. I love the depth of flavor that yeast adds to dough, so my first choice is the yeasted version. However, if you need a quick fix, then replace the yeast with baking powder and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes before frying.
Another difference in these fried dough treats is that they’re not meant to be as sweet as regular doughnuts. Slightly sweet would best describe them. And freshly ground cardamom is best for this recipe, as you get pops of flavor as you bite into the crushed seeds, which is an enjoyable experience.
How to Make Mandazi
- Activate the yeast in the warm water, coconut milk, sugar, and salt for 5 minutes. Then, lightly beat in the egg. (Photo 1)
- Dough – Mix in 3 cups of flour, the grated coconut, cardamom, and nutmeg by hand or in a stand mixer. (Photo 2)
- Knead – Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until fully incorporated and the gluten develops (5-7 minutes). It shouldn’t be too sticky to the touch. Gradually adding more flour if needed, but it’s better to err on the side of less flour than more. (Photo 3)
- Rise – Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size. (Photo 4)
- Dough Balls – Punch the dough down, divide into 4 equal pieces, then form balls and roll out each piece into 6 triangular pieces. Let it rest for about 15 minutes. (Photos 5-6)
- Heat a large saucepan with at least 3 inches of oil until it reaches 375℉ (190℃). Too little will result in flatter mandazi. Gently drop the mandazis into the oil in batches to avoid overcrowding.
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown, quickly turn them over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown. (Photos 7-8)
- Remove them from the pan with a large slotted spoon or spider (culinary, not the arachnid). Place them on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
- Serve – Sprinkle with powdered sugar to make them sweeter if desired.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- An electric coffee grinder does a great job with minimal effort to crush cardamom seeds. A mortar and pestle requires more energy, but it also works.
- If the dough is still sticky, knead in another ¼ cup of flour a bit at a time until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. Sometimes, if you let it rest for 10-20 minutes, the flour will absorb more moisture and become less sticky.
- You may need more or less flour depending on the protein content and the weather (humidity and temperature.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
Mandazi is best served fresh out of the frying pan with chai or as a snack. Unfortunately, it gets tough and stringy after a while. However, you can make the dough ahead and let it ferment in the refrigerator for a day or two. I’ve even left the dough in the fridge for almost a week, and the flavor was even better.
You can freeze or refrigerate leftovers. Since they’re fried, I usually wrap them in a paper towel to keep them crisp, then store them in a ziplock bag. They’ll last up to a week in the fridge and two months in the freezer.
More Fabulous Doughnut Recipes
By Imma
This blog post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos.
Mandazi (East African Doughnuts)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (60ml) warm water
- ½ cup (120g) coconut milk (canned or fresh)
- 2 teaspoons (6g) active dry yeast
- ¼-½ cup (50-100g) sugar
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour (plus more for kneading)
- 3 tablespoons (15-16g) grated coconut (fresh or dried)
- 1 teaspoon (2g) crushed cardamom
- ½ teaspoon (1g) grated nutmeg or ground cinnamon
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the warm water, coconut milk, yeast, sugar, and salt until dissolved. Set aside for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Lightly beat the egg into the yeast mixture.
- Mix 3 cups of flour, the grated coconut, cardamom, and nutmeg by hand or in a stand mixer.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until fully incorporated and it's not too sticky to the touch (5-7 minutes). Gradually adding more flour if needed, but it's better to err on the side of less flour than more.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough down, divide into 4 equal pieces, then form balls and roll out each piece into 6 triangular pieces. Let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Fill a large saucepan with vegetable oil until it's at least 3 inches (about 5 centimeters) deep (too little will result in flatter mandazi). Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 375℉ (190℃).
- Gently drop the mandazis into the oil in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
- Fry for a few minutes until the bottom side is golden brown, quickly turn them over and fry for a few more minutes until the other side is golden brown.
- Remove them from the oil with a large slotted spoon or spider (culinary, not the arachnid). Place them on paper towels right away to soak up the excess oil.
- Sprinkle with powdered sugar to make them sweeter if desired.
Tips & Notes:
- You can crush the cardamom with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Or you can use already ground cardamom, although the flavor isn’t as intense.
- The amount of flour you need depends on so many things: the climate, flour, liquids, etc. Knead the dough, adding just enough flour so it isn’t sticky.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Nutrition Information:
I made these today. They turned out great. They taste good and are very soft. My only concern is that I could taste the yeast. Do you have any tips on how to avoid that next time?
Make sure your dough is not left out for too long to rise .It goes through a longer fermentation process which might give off a not so pleasant smell. if all fails cut back on the yeast by about 1/4 teaspoon.
Your post can help make good mandazis. I had to give you complent since the first time I tried without recipe was “ngumu sana”. And kids have been deriding me on them. Then your recipe happened and now every Wednesday is “soft” mandao day. Follow the steps and you’ll love the outcome.
Yaaay! I love the idea of Wednesdays as soft manado day. 🙂 Glad it turned out well for you.
Do you crush cardamom spice yourself or do you buy the ground cardamom spice from the store?
Thanks for the recipe!!
Either way works. I usually crush cardamon spice into it.
Simpleb recipeb and easy to follow.
Yummy results?
Hi Shiro! Glad you like it
Nice job. In Kiawahili if you use yeast for the dough it is known as mahamri. Mandazi is strictly for the baking powder version.
Kerr up the good work.
Meant keep up the good work.
Hi Kay! Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful and yummy! I made mandazi last weekend for my family of 4. They were all gone by day 2!! Your recipe, reminded me of the Mandazi from sweet home in Kenya!
Ngina!
Ngina, I am glad your family enjoyed it
Wow. This was my favourite snack when i was a kid. Love this. I’m so gonna try them today;-) thanks
Thank you soo much for the soft mandazi receipe.A friend of mine surprised me when she called me and said she was craving mandazi.she is from west Africa,so I told her,to come over to me,so I could make it while she was there..I have never cooked mandazi for over 12 years,so while she was on her way,I quickly googled and found your receipe,and thanks to you,they turned out soo nice.when she got home,she txt me and told me,how everyone had enjoyed them,so I told her,anytime she craves mandazi,I will be more than happy to make it for her..
They are also found in Somalia.We eat SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH MANDAZI!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for this recipe it means a lot to me to be able to prepare mandazi. my grandma use to prep it for me when I was a child. she use to live in Tanganika but we are from the Seychelles. and this brings back so many great afternoon memories from 35 years ago and now I can taste mandazi again!!
Alvin, it is amazing what memories food could evoke.Thanks for taking the time to share this with us- I really appreciate it!
I have tried both of your mandazis… this one is really good . However, the other soft mandazi is AMAZING !!! and is really tender. Thanks for all your great work !
Eeeh eh eh a MANdoes, they are so sweet am telling you!!! Thank you for teaching us how to cook perfect ones.
Patos,I am glad you like them.
Linet, the problem is not giving enough time for the dough to rise- it has to double in size.
mine sometimes turn out hard like biscuits,cookies what could be the problem?
Sorry to hear about your mandazi experience . Egg does help to tenderized the dough , however, mandazi gets stringy and tough after a while. Best eaten still warm.
Mine always turn out hard and somewhat crispy when rested. Does the egg in your recipe help ?
I love mandazzi! 🙂 I had then every morning when I stayed in uganda for a month! A nice woman called rose would make us these with red plum jam and honey:p
I can never seem to make them taste the same though 🙁
I love easy snack.i will try this tomorrow and share with friends
Let me know how you like it!
I love mandazi! and yours looks really good just like the kind I grew up eating for breakfast everyday and taking some to school for snack (I’m from EA too). You inspired me, so this weekend I will make some mandazi to share with friends.
Kasuku, am happy to have inspired you to make childhood after school snack. Let me know how it works out for you.
What a beautiful cross-section! I love yeasted sweets. Haven’t tried much of East African cuisine, but this is a good introduction as far as I’m concerned 🙂
Irina, they are perfect introduction to East Africa cuisine and all of the ingredients are readily available. Thanks for stopping by
In Sierra Leone, we went to the market one day and spied these delicious-looking puffs, with some kind of filling. The vendor said, “E sweet-o!” so I bought one and took a biiig bite. Too late, I remembered that ‘sweet’ in Krio just means ‘tasty.’ It was so spicy, I thought my hair would catch fire! It was tasty, though, after my mouth cooled off a little.
Janet, what an experience you had, this one is sweet, spicy but not hot.
Hahahahaha, that vendor could be a Nigerian.