Easy Yeast-Free Mandazi – Immaculate Bites

What is Mandazi?

Mandazi is a popular East African street food that’s somewhere between a doughnut and a beignet. Made with coconut milk and fresh coconut, warm spices and a traditional yeast dough that gives it a beautifully soft texture. Be warned – it’s highly addictive!

Recipe Ingredients

1. flour – Break out that pantry staple: all-purpose flour. Adding a pinch of baking powder helps this no-fuss dough rise quickly. If you have self-rising flour, you can use that instead. Just omit the baking powder.
2. Sugar and spice – Mandazi is not very sweet so just a little bit of sugar is enough to sweeten the dough. Crushed cardamom and grated nutmeg or cinnamon complement the coconut flavour, giving it a warm and comforting taste.
3. coconut – The coconut milk moistens the batter and the coconut flakes give it a luxurious overall taste.
4. butter It adds richness to the overall flavor of the pastry.
5. egg – Adding one egg to the mandazi batter makes it soft and fluffy.
6. oil – To fry mandazi, you need oil that is neutral in taste and has a high smoke point.

How to make Mandazi easily without yeast

Make the dough

• dry material – In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, sugar, cardamom and nutmeg. (photo1)
• Wet material – Slowly add the liquid ingredients i.e. eggs, butter, milk etc. Mix until the mixture comes together and the dough is smooth. (Photos 2-3)
• roll Roll out the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Cut into bite size pieces or triangles as shown in the picture. (Photos 4-5)

Deep frying mandazi

• heat oil – Add vegetable oil to a large pot to a depth of at least 3 inches (about 5 centimeters). Too little oil will cause the mandazi to be flat. Heat over medium heat to 350°F (180°C).
• fry Grill the mandazis for 3-5 minutes depending on their size, until golden brown. (Photo 6)
• serve – Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

Recipe Variations

1. Using yeastIf you’re not in a hurry, you can use yeast instead of baking powder, this recipe uses baking powder as a time saver.
2. Customize your spicesSpiced up to your liking: warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg are perfect for a sweet mandazi, or you can go sugar-free and use savory spices for a savory snack.
3. Easy mandazi made without fryingTo avoid deep frying, place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and spray with a little cooking oil. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Alternatively, you can air fry at 350°F (180°C) for about 10 minutes, spraying lightly with oil.

Tips and tricks

1. You can use an electric coffee grinder to crush cardamom seeds with minimal effort. Or you can use a mortar and pestle, which works well but requires a little extra energy. 💪
2. If the mandazi dough is too sticky, add a bit more flour. If it is too stiff, add a bit more water. The dough should not be too sticky to the touch, but it is better to use less flour than too much.
3. Three inches of oil may seem like excessive but it’s not. Too little oil will make the mandazis flat. We want them to be tall and fluffy.

Preliminary steps

Like most fried foods, these mandazi are best served fresh out of the pan. To save time, make the batter the night before, cover it and store it in the fridge, then let it come to room temperature before frying the next day.

How to serve and store

Mandazis are best served warm, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar or drizzled with caramel sauce.

Any leftover mandazi can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For best results, reheat it slightly before you finish eating it – I like to use a toaster oven or air fryer, but you can also warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds.

Something that goes well with a simple mandaj

This African snack is Chai LatteYou can also have it with a cold drink. Blended Thai Iced Coffee. Immerse Caramel sauce Or luscious Lamb sauce It’s like heaven. 😇

More Addictive African Pastry Recipes Worth Trying

1. Puff Puff
2. Sambusa
3. Coex Sisters
4. Chin chin
5. Accra Cassava

This blog post was originally published in February 2015 and has been updated with additional tips and beautiful photos.