Danish vitumbua - Danish aebleskiver

 

This post is in appreciation to the anonymous reader who commented on the vitumbua pans. Thank you for posting on aebleskiver pan, I can now put my pan to more use.I visited the website which also has recipes and decided to try cooking the danish vitumbua using my pan following the video's instructions. And I really enjoyed making and eating them. The recipe was easy to follow and cook quickly. Spent around 30-45 minutes maximum. I made half of the recipe added vanilla and cardamom and I ended regretting doing so...the plate was emptied so quickly!!! The aebleskiver were scrumptious ate mine with warm apricot preserve. The aebleskiver were soft, imagine eating a delicious pancake or crepe but in a ball shape. Perfect finger food. Delicious!!!

This is half of the original recipe. It makes approximately 28 aebliskiver using my small holed pan.
Basic ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup of milk
1 ½ cup of self raising flour

My additions:
1-2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 teaspoon of cardamom
2 tablespoons of sugar

Procedure I still advice you watch the video.
1.In a medium bowl beat the eggs and milk. Add the vanilla, cardamom, sugar add the flour to a slightly heavy pancake- crepe like consistency. Let rest for 15-20 minutes. For simplicity pour the mixture in a small jug.
2.Heat your aeblisker pan or vitumbua pan.
3.Put ½ teaspoon of oil in each hole then pour some of the mixture in the holes. Make sure it doesnt over fill.
4. This is the tricky part: After a few minutes using a wooden skewer lift up the top of each aebliskiver, and turn approximately 1/3 rd on it's self(looks like a hood).Then after a minute using the skewer lift from one side try to turn to the other side. This allows the batter to expand. Then after 1 minutes holding the top, lift the aebliskiver and turn it over; this allows the ball shape to form. Keep rotating the ball till it's fried and becomes golden brown.
Once ready remove from heat and repeat until all the mixture finishes.

Serve with jam. (As I added sugar to mine you can have them without adding anything).

Cheers to the danes!!! Mange Tak!

Chila - Rice flatbread

This is another simplified Zanzibari bread recipe. The traditional way is to use whole rice which is either soaked in water overnight or grounded dry with mortar and pestle. There are two versions of chila one is a dry flat bread which has sugar added to it which is similar to my recipe. The second version is the most authentic one ; once the bread is cooked a tablespoon of tui iliyopikwa na sukari na hiliki - cooked coconut milk which has been sweetened with sugar and cardamom is drizzled on top.
In my recipe I use rice flour which can be found in any convenient store.

This recipe makes 8-9 chila

Ingredients
1 cup of ground rice flour
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of coconut powder
1 egg white (You can use a whole egg)
1 teaspoon of yeast
1-2 teaspoons of ground cardamom
1 1/2 cup of warm water.
Optional : few drops of Vanilla essence or rose essence (Arki ya rosi)

Directions:
Mix the rice flour, yeast, cardamom ,coconut powder and sugar in a bowl. Using a hand held mixer add the egg and water slowly to the dry ingredients. Let the mixture stay in a warm area till it rises.

Once the mixture has doubled in size. Heat a small nonstick round saucepan on medium heat. Spray a little cooking oil and wipe it off. (You are only doing this to make sure that the bread doesnt stick to the pan ). Stir the mixture, it's consistency will be like of pancake batter and using a ladle pour the mixture and tilt the saucepan till it spreads out evenly. Then cover the saucepan with a covering this allows the holes to form on the bread. Once you notice the bread is browning underneath and there are alot of holes the bread is ready to be removed.
Now when you remove the bread you have to stack them in a special manner.You can see the image below.

The reason why you do this is you dont want the browned side colour to rub on the white top. It usually happens when they are hot.

Chila can be eaten while warm or cold. Can be eaten by itself or with a stew.

Enjoy.

Mandaazi 2nd Version

This is one of my old recipes which I had contributed to SOL. Thought it would be good to add it here, too.
Link to the other Mandazi recipe.

Maandazi/mahamri- (East african sweet bread)
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
3 tablespoons of coconut powder
4 tablespoons of powdered milk(some add also custard powder)
3/4- 1 cup of sugar
a Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon margarine
1-2 cups of warm water
oil for frying
Makes about 4 dozen

Sift flour. Add the sugar, salt, coconut powder,milk powder and yeast together.

Beat egg well. Stir the egg mixture with the margarine into flour and add water and mix until soft dough is formed. Add more water if necessary.

Knead dough in the bowl until smooth but not sticky. Dough should leave the sides of the bowl cleanly. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. Roll out dough on a floured board until 1/2-inch thick. Cut into squares, strips, or triangles( dividing it into 4 parts is more practical). Fry in deep fryer until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper.

Serve with stew or can be eaten by itself when warm. Instead of cooking in oil you can bake in a conventional oven as if your baking pastry

Mkate wa Ajemi - Persian(Ajemi) Bread

I still dont know when this bread was inherited by the Swahili culture.Historically, Zanzibar Islands was influenced by Persians so thats how this soft flat bread was added to our cuisine.The word AJEM in arabic means the non arabs but the Persians were commonly known by this title.


Ingredients
1. 3 cups of flour ( I mix 1 cup of all purpose , 2 cups white wholewheat)
2. 1 cup of yogurt
3. 1 packet yeast
4. 1/4 tablespoon baking powder
5. 2 tablespoons of canola oil
6. 1 tablespoon salt
7.Vegetable ghee - can substitute with canola oil.
Optional addition : Add 2 eggs

8. A pan for cooking the bread and a pizza board or flat pan which is oven proof.

Directions:

In a bowl mix the flour, yeast and baking powder well. In a smaller bowl whisk the eggs, oil and yogurt then pour into the flour and knead till soft. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes covered or in the oven.

Take the dough and divide it into 6 or 8 equal pieces.( 8 make smaller size- like pita) Make into balls and prepare them as if you are making chapati.


1. On a floured surface roll dough as thinly as possible with a rolling pin.


2. Add a tablespoon of warmed vegetable ghee or canola oil on top of the rolled out dough.
3.Using your hands stretch the dough to make it thin then lay it on the surface and roll it.




4.Taking one end roll the dough into a ball like a cinnamon bun.



5.Repeat the same process till all balls are done then put in a bowl and cover for another 30 minutes. Allows the dough to raise.


Cooking:
Take a pan put it on medium heat and heat put your oven on broil.
Roll out the dough to an almost perfect circle and place it on the pan.


Let it brown a little on the bottom then transfer it to the ovenproof pan and place it in the oven for 1-2 minutes with the door closed. Once the top browns remove from the oven. Add a little dab of butter on top. Note: The bread burns quickly in the broiler.






Repeat the process.


Tip:
To save time I usually roll 2 balls at a time, once you remove one from the pan the other is ready to remove out of the oven. The bread cooks quickly within 10 minutes your done.

Variation:
Instead of adding Yogurt you knead the flour with water only.

Mkate wa Mayai - Swahili sponge cake

This is a favorite in Zanzibari Kitchens. It literally translate to Bread made with eggs. As its soft and spongy it is consumed in the morning or at teatime. It's a quick treat to make as it's ready in 30 minutes.
Some people like to garnish it with Raisins on top, I beg to differ like it plain.


Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 white wholewheat flour
2 teaspoons of powdered cardamom.
1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
Optional: Essence - vanilla
1/4 cup raisins.


Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.Grease a round cake mold with PAM.
2.In a bowl beat the eggs, sugar and cardamom powder and the optional essence with a hand held beater approx 5 minutes or until the eggs have peaked.
3.In a different smaller bowl mix the baking powder with the flour then slowly add it to the egg mixture while your still beating the mixture.
4.Pour the mixture into the baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. To check for readiness the toothpick shouldnt be wet once pricked in the center of the cake.
5.Remove from the oven and let cool. It's ready to serve with Chai.

Variation: Garnishing with raisins.
When you pour the mixture in the baking pan add the raisins on top.

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

Sabayat or Chapati

Chapati or sabayat is a round, unleavened flat bread common in most East African countries and West Asia particulary India. The bread is slightly made different in each country but basically look the same. In Somalia it is called sabayat and can be eaten as main dish or as a snack. For breakfast, I usually make the dough overnight and keep in the fridge, in the morning I let it come to room temperature before I roll the chapati out.

What you need:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour


• 1 cup all purpose flour


• 1 ts. salt


• 1 ts sugar


• 2 tbs Ghee or oil


• 1/2 Cup warm water or as needed

Directions:

• Mix flour, salt and sugar in a bowl


• Slowly add warm water and mix to make a thick dough


• Knead the dough in the bowl adding warm Ghee or oil


• take it out of the bowl and continue kneading it on a floured surface for 10 minutes


• Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean cloth, and let it rest for 30 minutes.


• divide the dough into equal round balls, roll each ball out on a floured surface. Brush with oil or Ghee and fold from four conners, roll it out again about 6-7 inch


• Pre-heat a skillet and lightly grease with oil


• place the flattened bread on the pan and let it form small bubles, turn it to the other side and let it rise-add the Ghee or oil and lightly move it from side to side, fry it until golden brown on both sides.


• serve it hot- with or without sauce.