Mandazi ( sw, Mandazi, Maandazi) is a form of
fried bread
Fried bread is a slice of bread that has been fried.
Nutrition
A small slice (35g) of fried bread has 174 calories.
Around the world
British Isles
A full English breakfast will often include bread fried in oil, butter, lard, or bacon ...
that originated on the
Swahili Coast. It is also known as bofrot or puff puff in Western African countries such as
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
and
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. It is one of the principal dishes in the cuisine of the
Swahili people
The Swahili people ( sw, WaSwahili) comprise mainly Bantu, Afro-Arab and Comorian ethnic groups inhabiting the Swahili coast, an area encompassing the Zanzibar archipelago and mainland Tanzania's seaboard, littoral Kenya, northern Mozambique, ...
who inhabit the Coastal Region of Kenya and Tanzania.
The dish is popular in the region, as it is convenient to make, can be eaten with almost any food or dips or just as a snack by itself, and can be saved and reheated for later consumption.
Characteristics
Mandazi are similar to
doughnuts
A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and fra ...
, having a more of a sweet taste which can be differentiated with the addition of different ingredients. However, they are typically less sweet than the
United States style of doughnuts and are usually served without any glazing or
frosting.
They are frequently made triangular in shape (similar to
samosa
A samosa () or singara is a fried Indian pastry with a savory filling, including ingredients such as spiced potatoes, onions, and peas. It may take different forms, including triangular, cone, or half-moon shapes, depending on the region. Samo ...
s), but are also commonly shaped as circles or ovals.
When cooked, they have a fluffy texture.
Preparation
![Mandazi Production](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Mandazi_Production.JPG)
Mandazi are made by briefly cooking the dough in
cooking oil
Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...
. The ingredients typically used to make mandazi include
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
,
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
,
flour
Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...
,
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
, and
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
is also commonly added for sweetness.
When coconut milk is added, mandazi are commonly referred to as ''mahamri'' or ''mamri''.
Ground peanuts and
almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
s, among other ingredients, can also be used to add a different flavor. After being cooked, they can be eaten warm or left to cool down. They are popular in the
African Great Lakes
The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in the ...
region, as they can be eaten in accompaniment with many things. They are commonly made in the morning or the night before, eaten with breakfast, then re-heated in the evening for dinner.
Mandazi are also commonly eaten with
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
or fresh fruit juice, or are eaten as snacks by themselves. Different dips, often fruit flavored, can be used to add various tastes.
Mandazi can also be eaten as a
dessert
Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Greece and West Africa, and ...
after a meal where it is often served with
powdered or
cinnamon sugar
Cinnamon sugar is a mixture of ground cinnamon and granulated sugar used as a spice to flavor foods such as Belgian waffles, Snickerdoodle cookies, tortillas, coffee cake, French toast, and churros.
It is also used to flavor apples, cereals, and ...
to add sweetness.
See also
*
Beignet
Beignet ( , also , ; ) is a type of ''fritter'', or deep-fried pastry, usually made from yeast dough in France, possibly made from pâte à choux and called Pets-de-nonne, nun's fart, in France, but may also be made from other types of dough, i ...
, a similar pastry from New Orleans
*
List of fried dough foods
This is a list of fried dough foods. Many cultures have dishes that are prepared by deep frying dough in many various forms. Doughnuts are a type of fried dough food that are covered separately in the Wikipedia article List of doughnut varieties.
...
*
Ox-tongue pastry
Ox-tongue pastry () or horse-ear pastry (), also referred to as Chinese doughnut, is a Chinese pastry that is popular in south China in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian. It is a fried dough food that is elliptical in shape and resembles an ...
, a similar Chinese pastry
*
References
{{African cuisine
Breads
Somali cuisine
Kenyan cuisine
Tanzanian cuisine
South Sudanese cuisine
Ethiopian cuisine
Ugandan cuisine
Deep fried foods