Mandazi
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
Maandazi
Lightly sweet, cardamom-scented fried dough triangles made with coconut milk, puffy and soft inside with a golden crust. Eaten with chai for breakfast all over East Africa.
Mandazi is a Kenyan sweet, ready in about 2 hours 5 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, cardamom and coconut milk. It serves 12 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- 1 h 15 min
- Total
- 2 h 5 min
- Serves
- 12
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 290
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), yeast, cardamom (opens in a new tab) and salt. Add the warm coconut milk (opens in a new tab) (and egg (opens in a new tab), if using) and knead for 8–10 minutes to a soft, smooth dough.
- 12 min
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 2
Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- 28°C · warm place
Step 3
Divide into 6 balls, roll each into a 5 mm thick circle and cut into 4 triangles. Rest 15 minutes.
Step 4
Heat the oil to 170 °C and fry a few at a time, turning, until puffed and golden on both sides.
- 30 min
- 170°C
- medium heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Never leave hot oil unattended and lower dough in gently away from you.
Step 5
Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm or at room temperature.
- 1 min
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Swahili coast · Commonly attributedA Swahili coastal snack shared by Kenya and Tanzania; the coconut-milk, yeasted version is often called mahamri.Also popular in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Sweets & confectionery · Street food
- Cooking method
- Deep-fried
- Taste
- sweet, aromatic / warmly spiced, creamy
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Dairy-free · No nut ingredientsWithout the optional extras: Vegan, Plant-based, Lacto-vegetarian, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Street food · Portable / lunchbox · Child-friendly
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Cardamom · Coconut milk · Sugar · Dried yeast
- Techniques
- Deep-frying · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
290 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 82 g · recipe makes 12
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 7%
- Carbohydrate 56%
- Fat 37%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 290 kcal | 355 kcal |
| Protein | 5.1 g | 6.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 41.2 g | 50.4 g |
| Net carbohydrate | — | — |
| Sugars | — | — |
| Added sugars | 8.3 g | 10.2 g |
| Fibre | — | — |
| Fat | 11.9 g | 14.6 g |
| Saturated fat | 5.2 g | 6.3 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 102 mg | 124 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.3 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 106 mg
- Calcium
- 12 mg
- Iron
- 2.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 21 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 138 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- Optional ingredients are not included: egg.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Fry a test piece first — it should puff within seconds and turn golden in about 2 minutes per side.
Common mistakes
- Oil that's too hot browns the outside before the inside cooks.
Serve with
- Serve with sweet spiced chai or with mbaazi (pigeon peas in coconut) on the coast.
Storage
- Keep in an airtight container 2 days.
Reheating
- Warm briefly in a low oven.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- All-purpose flour500 g
- Egg (optional)1 piece · 50 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 20 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Rest · about 15 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 30 min
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 2 h 5 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 500 g | 100% |
| Coconut milk | Other liquid | 294 g | 58.8% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 100 g | 20% |
| Dried yeast | Yeast | 7 g | 1.4% |
| Salt | Salt | 3 g | 0.6% |
| Cardamom | Other | 2 g | 0.4% |
- Total flour
- 500 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 41.2%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Salt 0.6% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
- Sugar 20% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
If something goes wrong
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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