Last updated on March 26th, 2023 at 08:11 pm

How to make mandazi a standard in Kenya

Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients:

4 cups of flour
1/4 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup coconut milk
A pinch of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 teaspoons desiccated coconut (optional)
Water (to form a soft dough)

Mandazi recipe method

Scoop the dough out of the bowl and knead it into a smooth ball. Lightly dust a clean work surface with flour and place your ball of dough on top.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of half a centimeter, keeping the shape as rectangular as possible. You can use a rolling pin if you have one, but I prefer using my hands to press down on the dough until I achieve the desired thickness.

Now use your knife or something like it (a pizza cutter works great) to cut the dough into triangles.

If you’ve opted for circular mandazis like me, you can do this by cutting long strips in your rectangle and then slicing each strip diagonally from one corner to another in an X shape.

For the mandazi dough

Start by combining the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk and water. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until the dough is evenly moistened. Add melted butter to the dough and stir until blended. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

For the filling (optional)

While the mandazis are frying, you can use this time to prepare the filling. I personally love a spicy beef filling that has been cooked in a tomato stew, but you can change it up to suit your taste and what is available to you.
If you are feeling adventurous or just have a lot of time on your hands, try preparing different fillings each time! You could even have friends over and make it into an event. Then everyone can choose their favorite.
An important thing to remember is that your filling must be cooked before using it for mandazi. If you like things sweet instead of savory, you can put some jam on top of your mandazi instead of using cheese or meat fillings.

You can make mandazis at home.

You can make mandazis at home. It takes a little bit of work, but the result is so much better than any store-bought variety. To make them you’ll need flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, and eggs. Once you have these ingredients, you can add whatever else you like to spruce up your mandazi recipe: raisins, grated coconut, or cinnamon are popular examples.

Mandazis are delicious on their own as a snack or breakfast item—but if you want something to pair with your mandazis, try tea or coffee. They’re especially delicious with masala chai (tea mixed with milk and spices).

Also Checkout: How to Start a Chips Mwitu Business in Kenya