Monday 8 January 2007

Mandazi - Coconut Bread (Mahamri)




This East African coconut bread is slightly sweet and has often been likened to doughnuts. It is available everywhere in East Africa; it is typical street food, mandazi is eaten at anytime, for breakfast with tea, for a snack or with bharazi for lunch or dinner.


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups plain flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon freshly grated or dried coconut
1/2 cup tin coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon roughly ground cardomom
warm water to bind
Oil to deep fry



Method
1. Mix all the dry ingredients, add the coconut milk and mix, add warm water for form a soft dough (not sticky). Knead thoroughly.
2. Place the dough in an oiled polythene bag and put in a warm place (airing cupboard) for 2-3 hours; until it has doubled in size.
3. Knead the dough and divide into 6 - 7 portions
4. Roll a roti like circle and cut into four parts
5, Fry in hot oil, two to three at a time, holding them under the oil on the first side until they puff. Turn over until brown on both sides.



Serve with bharazi


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32 comments:

TNL said...

This is wonderful! Can I substitute the coconut milk for anything else?

Trupti

Saju said...

Hi Trupti,
Yes you can substitute coconut with ground peanuts. This is delish. I am going to cook and post green bananas (matoke) in peanut sauce later today.

Saju said...

or ground almonds

Anonymous said...

can you subsitute the coconut milk for something else. Not the grated coconut but the coconut MILK?

Saju said...

how about ground peanut milk or ground almond milk

Anonymous said...

hi,
i went through your site and my my mouth watering.....i had all the ingredients for the mandazi i did exactly everything but funny enough they came out very dark brown and not very fluffy...did i do something wrong...or the oil was too hot in high heat or what...i used the packet flour does it make a difference if it is expiring this month....coz later i checked and it stated 11/07 expiry date....plz guide me thanks...

fatma/dxb

Saju said...

did the dough rise with the yeast? if it did, may be the oil was too hot, if they mandazi go brown very quickly.
Do try it again, this recipe does work, I have made these some many times.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the reply,Yes the dough did rise..i guess it was the oil to hot....when i asked my mum she said to heat the oil than put the fire low so it doesnt get very hot..is that the way....I hope the next time they turn out better..Though i still ate munched on some of the mandazi's..LOL...after all the hard work eh...

Saju said...

good luck, let me know how tou get on.

Sagar Shah said...

Hi,

Is mandazi similar to mahaamri?

I remember eating a lot of mahaamri bharaji in mombasa when I was a kid.

Sagar Shah said...

Sorry fogot to tick the email me the follow-up comments to this post.

Saju said...

Hi Sagar, I believe the two are the
same.

Nadia said...

How much water would you say brings the dough to the right consistency?

Unknown said...

i tired it and it was brill, my boyfriend is kenyan so i wanted to make something special for him and it worked he loved them and so did i.the receipe was easy to follow and at first mine came out a bit crispy but then i just left my slices a bit thicker and hey presto it worked so i think the trick is to not roll out your dough too thinly.

i also made the barazi to go with it perfect. next im goign to try the mogo lamb as its a favourite of my kenyan mum she will be so proud love ur site its ace.

ps i also made ur mutton curry wat can i say i think now thanks to you i a good cook :)

kherun said...

Mandazi - There was no oil in the receipe, can you confirm that there should be no oil because I have East African receipe and it has oil when mixing the dough. Thanks

Saju said...

Hi Kherun,
I did not add any oil, however I put the dough in an oiled bag. So a little oil is kneaded in. Also the coconut contains a lot of oil. I do know that a lot of recipe call for oil (1 table spoon to 1 cup of flour) so there is no harm in adding the oil. Rub flour with oil before adding any liquids.

Shaila said...

You have a great blog and I love all the recipes.Well done and thanks for sharing your recipes especially the East African inspired ones.

Shaila Hussein
www.xtra-specialcakes.blogspot.com

Saju said...

thank you. your cakes look amazing.

Shamim said...

Brings back those memories. Glad I found this blog.

mcDimples said...

So hungry for mandazi now I'm cooking some tomorrow! I prefer mine with just cardamon spice added. And I found that the more sugar and eggs, the crunchier yet soft!
I'm from kenya so I have tried all sorts of variations and love it.

mcDimples said...

Do u have pilau recipe? With meat or veggie in it...

Saju said...

http://chachiskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/lamb-pilau.html

Saju said...

http://chachiskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/mutter-pilau-pilau-rice-with-peas.html

Simplyfood said...

My 1st visit here and loving your space. Following your blog.
Your recipes would be perfect to enter the event Flavours of South Africa please do link them.You can find out how here.

http://www.seduceyourtastebuds.blogspot.in/2012/12/announcing-flavors-of-africa.html

Anonymous said...

Hi! I'm curious if this could be baked rather than fried? I love maandazi but I'm trying to stay away from fried food. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi! Thanks for sharing your recipes with us. I was wondering if these can be baked rather than fried?

Taslim from Toronto said...

I've been home on mat leave for a few months and promised myself I'd learn a few fancy dishes before going back to work. Just tried the mandazi recipe this afternoon - they turned out amazing!!! A few small tweaks - I added 1.5 teaspoons yeast that I dissolved in a cup of warm water and a teaspoon of sugar first. I used savoy brand canned coconut milk - the thick part, and let it rise for 3.5 hours. Next time I'll use an extra tablespoon of sugar as I like mine a tad bit sweeter. Thanks so much Chachi! My family is going to love this!

Saju said...

I have not tried it, but I am sure it can be done, bake at 200C, brush oil on a baking sheet, and brush oil on each mandazi.
let me know how you got on.

Anonymous said...

My mandazi turn out great thanks to you Saju.
Now can I substitute plain flour for whole wheat flour,
any changes required in the recipe?

Nazma

Anonymous said...

I use whole wheat and white flour mix

Michael Dan said...

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Anonymous said...

hi mine turned out great just need to be sweeter can I add more sugar of will they not rise

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