Mandazi (also known as Maandazi or Ndao and sometimes called Mahamri or Mamri) are East African donuts. You can find these delicious donuts in large urban areas and also among the Swahili people of East Africa. Most small restaurants, called hotelis in Kenya, serve mandazi. You can also find mandazi being sold by street vendors.
Usually mandazi are eaten with tea (chai) or coffee. Serve them warm for breakfast or for snack.
Recipe:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
Bring all ingredients to room temperature before mixing them together. Mix all the ingredients together, adding more flour if necessary. The dough should be soft, but not sticky. Roll the dough on a lightly floured board until it is about 1/4 inch think. Cut into triangles and fry in hot oil. Fry until both sides are golden brown. Remove mandazi from oil and drain on paper towels or newspaper. Mandazi are best served warm.
Variations:
* Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the hot mandazi.
* Put some white sugar into a bag, add a couple mandazi, and shake the bag to cover the mandazi with sugar.
* Add about a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, or cardamom to the dough or a combination of these spices to total a 1/2 teaspoon.
* Use a circular donut cutter to make mandazi in the shape of traditional donuts.
* Substitute pineapple, orange, or lemon juice for the milk.
* Add some shredded coconut to the dough.
* Add ground peanuts or ground almonds to the dough.
* You may substitute 1 teaspoon dry yeast for the 2 teaspoons baking powder. You will want to allow the mandazi to rise before cutting shapes and frying.
Healthy Substitutions and Variations:
* Use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 wheat flour to make a healthier mandazi.
* Try baking these in the oven at 350 degrees to reduce the amount of fat.
* Substitute the white sugar with Splenda.
* Substitute some plain yogurt for the egg.
* Mash 1/2 an over-ripe banana and add to dough. You may want to reduce the amount of milk.
Previous Comments From Old ATK Site:
Anonymous said: thanks mates i needed this recipe for my darn homework
Anonymous said: a year without madazi is like ????
Billy said: Will try making this, but will bake them for less fat.
Dennis Mawira said: Why is the mandazi hard ngumu. kama mbao
Anonymous said: how many people does the above recipe serve…..
Anonymous said: the mandazi were awesome. have done it again and again and again
Salma said: is egg important
manie said: Can I use self-raising flour?
maureen said: Lovely
Roman said: Look forward to trying. I saw them being made by some nice old man in Kenya on a public channel where they feature treats from around the world.
Nicole said: How Many Mandazi Wil I Make With The Recepy
nyachae said: mandazi nimazuri
J said: Mmmhhh yummy! I used part of the healthy substitutes, but I used Stevia instead of sugar/Splenda and Almond milk instead of regular milk; all spice also ~ thank you for such an easy recipe! 🙂
phenny said: am actually going to make them but I just can’t use coconut. I hate coconut taste in my food.
mutunga said: I made them once and mandazi yenyewe yalikuwa yamekauka. What did i do wrong?
caspers said: I would like to know how many mandazis of medium size should I expect from the two cups of flour?
Unknown said: Awesome recipe I make it for a snack every other day
Unknown said: This recipe made my old one better!!!!!! 🙂
Anonymous said: i love well spiced mandazi.I love Kenyan food.I am Kenyan leaving in Uganda but try to make my food the Kenyan way.
Anonymous said: hoe many does this make?
Unknown said: Am making them now,hope they will be delicious.
Anonymous said: I ope to make the best mandazi for ma family coz they like them alot.
boniface otieno said: thanks …..be biz oriented thou…..preparation costs so high jst wanted to prepare for biz not family ….very goood for family n way
geti vs keino said: Thank you for the recipe . Very nice do you want to buy from me some. 00254….mandazi number one…
kumanina said: Napenda mandazi sana ,asante
bildardoh spartan billitelly said: thanks for the recipe now i cn surprise her in the morning with something different
Violetta said: Yum they are delicious….. I’m from Kenya and miss eating them….. My sis cams over last week after ’20 years and made it got us for breakfast ….. Heavenly……
Ngere said: they are sooooo good
aymar said: hmmm thnx alot
Flora said: Excellent! Just made some and they are a huge hit. Thank you for this recipe!
IZOOO said: thanks for that GOD BLESS YOU
Mama daniella said: Am excited about cooking for my family madazi. I hop i don’t mess up lol!!!
Anonymous said: I have been to Uganda 7 times. The sisters make mandazi for us. It is one of the highlights of our trips.
shirr said: Tried today was so good.my first time starting.thanks for recipie.
The man said: U people. I like all these mandazis explained above. Hope somebody does not mind preparing several of these and inviting me… We can do this…c’mon
Brenda said: simply the best! gotta try it out. here in Uganda we really eat faaaaaaaaaake mandazi. bt now that ive got these receives, m gna spread sm good news! tnx
carol said: awesome ii try it today
lai34 said: i like mandazi but love kalimati!!
Anonymous said: Am going to try it this mornin
sally-G said: will try it at home
S.Maybury said: I am a missionary child of two linguists who translated the bible in East Africa. We moved back to Britain 7 years ago and I have always yearned for the delectable taste of these glorious tidbits. My life…is now complete.
Anonymous said: how many doughnuts will this make?
Anonymous said: mazuri sana
Emmanuel said: Sweet ones! I gonna try them in my interview
Anonymous said: So yummy!!! Super simple and delicious. Tastes like an american funnel cake.
Anonymous said: nor buying mandazi again
mary said: i will try it at home
hellen said: awsome mandazi……
Nat said: It’s been 6 years since we moved to Australia and I miss Mandazi like crazy. Have to make them this weekend! Asante sana 🙂
Anonymous. said: This recipe is amazing.I tried it’s awesome.
Timon said: what about salt ?
Cameron said: I really like Mandazi and i only trust this website for some reason i’m not sure why.
Anonymous said: it wasnt sweet enough… but it was good
Anonymous said: i will try this today….sounds yummy
Anonymous said: Tasty & fluffy but I reduced the amount of sugar but still too sweet
kaptot said: Loved it
Anonymous said: The recipe resulted to very nice mandazis
maggie kalewa said: i love the way they are cooked i will try to make it because cooking is my career
Anonymous said: I love mandazi
Kenyan recipes said: I like the recipes a lot
me said: I have to try this out this weekend.
Anonymous said: Your recipe helped
Anonymous said: Thanks
anonymous said: can u use oil instead of butter
All Things Kenyan said: Milk out of the fridge shouldn’t be a problem. I use it all the time in my recipes.
Anonymous said: i made mistake and used milk from fridge. what will happen?
Anonymous said: Definately the BEST recipe out there! Loved it!
blackmatakowarrior said: the mandazis are tamu sana thankyou
Anonymous said: I tried it and loved it thank you very much.
Eden said: They are 24 donuts.i give you 5 stars,and thank you again.
Anonymous said: I tried it and loved it thank you very much.
anonymous said: good
Anonymous said: How many servings does this make
Anonymous said: Doing it now
Anonymous said: Am so glad for this recipe am gonna try it now !
Anonymous said: Last time I ate Mandazi was in Naivasha when I lived in Kenya,It used to be our breakfast at a local African hotali,
I missed t a lot, (haven’t been back to Kenya since 1967), Now stumbled at this recipe, Couldn’t resist making them haki ya mungu mandazi na rudisha siku ango dani ya Kenya, nazuri sana, Sasa mimi na tangneza Mandazi mara billi kila messi. Watotona taka kila siku.
Asanti sana ku unesha sis namna ya ku tangneza mandazi.
Asanti Sana mara angina.
jeffarruna wass isho said: am eager 2 knw hw 2 cook the best mandazi all over tha whole world i thnk u 4 being a best teacher
Anonymous said: I’m the best cook ever……..thanks to this recipe 😉
john said: made this for our class pot luck at an american college.. they loved it
genniffer said: wil hav to try this. have been struggling with my methods
ashley said: im ashley and my class is doing country reoports and im doing kenya! i am making mandazi and there really good and try them and make them there alsome!
anonymous said: yuumm
Anonymous said: I tried this recipe….TAMU SANA!! My kids and their friends loved them. Thanks.
SWAS 7 said: Thx 4 the recipe! I did a project on this and it helped alot!
aint got 1 !!! #YOLO said: thx 4 this im doin a project and dis really helped
mosse said: Thank you!
PRINCESS_A said: I just made these for a culture project for religion class ! Came out nice ! Gunna be doing this often ! #TeamKenya #254
Anonymous said: These are easy to make and taste great. Thanks for the recipe.
Anonymous said: i can wait to try it. its for my class!!
Anonymous said: we made da in school 2
gracie said: that looks good
Princess said: Best recipe ever, I make this every time I have guests and for functions and they disappear soo fast..thanks…
Livvee said: I’ve got a project called cool cultures and I’m doing Kenya and I am making this for it and I’ve tryed it out and they are really tasty and easy to make
carn da Hawks said: Num Num Num…
Anonymous said: great….will definitelu try this recipe…
laurenn said: They are are great little snack. I would eat them every day for a snack.Thanks for the snack. It will be a great hit at school for my project.
aprajita said: it sounds nice!
Anonymous said: They taste great!
anecia said: ok i think they are good!
Anonymous said: sounds sweet
Anonymous said: why was mine hard?
Tilly said: Sounds interesting, i have a project on Kenya so i am definatly trying this out 🙂
Deepa said: We lived in kenya for 15-20 years and mandazi was one of our favorite snacks.Even those we bought from kiosks.
Mimi said: Sounds good – will definitely try this
amelia obiya said: Best way good job thanks, helped alot for heritage project
amelia obiya said: thank you helped,alot with my school project thanks!
Anonymous said: Awesome
Jane said: I love it it’s just what i was looking for. I’ll try the adds on one at a time starting with coconut milk. thanks for the receipe.
loree said: will make it and let you know. will try baking them instead
greatthing said: When my nan made this it was good everybody loved it
humphry said: i dont think it is very good i did everything by the book (naf) and it still idnt work
Joe Mama said: IT TASTES REALLY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!
joe said: sweet
Anonymous said: i think the original recipe with yeast was WAY better
Anonymous said: My Mandazi keeps coming out too dense. Any suggestions as to what I’m doing wrong?
Janet said: Your recipe is good but I prefer ther more traditional approach of using yeast and cardamon and sometimes adding coconut milk to the dough. I did find cardamon at Penzey’s spice shop for quite a low price….
lisa andes said: when my mum made this dish everybody loved it
Alison said: The recipe is great!!!
All Things Kenyan (mod) said: This recipe calls for baking powder which does not need to rise. If you wish, you can let the mandazi sit for 15 minutes before you fry them but you really don’t need to do that. They will puff up just fine when they are fried.
Anonymous said:
how long should the dough be left to rise??
All Things Kenyan (mod) said: That sounds very yummy!
naomi said: I grate orange peels, and squeeze a little orange juice into mine to give them an orange flavor. yummy!
Anonymous said: how many servings does it make
All Things Kenyan (mod) said: Yes, I’ve been considering adding some cardamon to my recipe. It’s a very pricey spice here in the US, though.
Dame said: am sure about half a teaspoon of cardamon would give it a graet flavor. Thats how I make mine 😉
bili said: very easy i just finished making it…its very sweet for me since am not a big fun of sweet stuff i will decrease the sugar other than that its really delicious n i can’t wait till my husband comes home…thx for the recipe…
wifey said: My kenyan husband was so surprised when I made these just right! He thought his sister was here.
TBONE said: I’m going to try this recipe and I’ll let you know how it turns out!
Anonymous said: I like this recipe link,i rearly never knew how to cook anything when i was in kenya.When i flew abroad i started missing my home food.When i found this link it has actully helped me.
it was wow i tried this and the mandazi was so sweet
I would like to know how many this recipe makes
You Should Leave Your Dough For 30mins To Make Soft Mandazi Before Rolling Then Cooking(frying). Try It Out SVP.