Mandazi, Mahamri

This is one of my favorite food. Mandazi is a fried sweetbread which is cut in a triangular shape. It can be eaten anytime of the day though it is most commonly eaten for breakfast or supper. You can have it with stew/veggie sauce or with a dab of margarine which was my dad's favorite or by dipping it in a cup of tea.

A Swahili lesson - 1 is called Andazi, more than 1 are called Maandazi.


Ingredients.
3 cups of flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon yeast
3 tablespoons of Coconut Powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon cardamom seed powder
Oil for frying.


All ingredients should be allowed to come to room temperature if they have been in the refrigerator.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour,sugar, coconut powder, yeast and cardamom. Mix the butter, milk, and egg together. Gradually add this mixture to the flour while kneading into dough. Knead until a smooth and elastic dough is formed takes atleast fifteen to twenty minutes. Cover with a cloth, and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour or more.

Divide the dough into 6 peices. Roll each dough ball into circles about one-half inch thick. Cut circles into quarters and place them on a cookie sheet and let them rise a second time.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan . Fry the triangular shaped dough in the hot oil, turning a few times, until they are golden brown all over. Fry only as many together as can float in the oil without touching one another. Place on paper towels to drain.

Variation:
1. Baked mandazi - Instead of adding yeast increase the baking powder to 2 teaspoons. Once the dough has been knead you divide it into 6 balls and cut them into the quarters immediately. After cutting you can let the dough wait for 30 minutes and bake them in the oven.
2.Variation using powdered milk