Lockdown 3.0 Remedies – Sweet Kitchen Treats

Founders Aniqah and Naeema quick and easy (vegan too!) recipe for mandazi’s, a light and fluffy East African donut. Mandazi’s are typically eaten for breakfast alongside a traditional dish called Bharazi (pigeon peas in coconut sauce). The slightly sweet mandazi’s balance with the savouriness of Bharazi. However Aniqah and Naeema’s favourite way to eat warm mandazi’s is with a cup of tea.

1 cup plain white flour
3 tbsps caster sugar
1.5 tsp ground cardamom
1 to 1.5 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
Half a cup of warm coconut milk
Additional white flour for rolling the dough (a few tbsps approx)
Additional oil for deep frying

• Put the first 5 ingredients into an electric mixer to blend ingredients together well.
• Then slowly add the warm coconut milk (you might not need it all) a bit at a time. As you add more coconut milk, the dough will begin to bind. Continue until the dough has formed – it should be very slightly sticky and stretchy.
• Remove the dough from the mixer and shape into a round ball with the help of a little flour. The dough should feel a little damp but not too sticky at this stage. Mix in a little flour if it is sticky.
• Place the dough in a glass bowl that is big enough to allow it to double in size. Cover and leave to rise for a few hours. The time it takes to rise will depend on your kitchen temperature.
• Once it has risen, divide the dough into 3 balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into a circle, about half a centimetre thick. Cut each circle into 6 triangles and set aside on a lightly floured surface.
• Heat a deep sided frying pan with enough oil to fry the Mandazi’s.
• Gently drop the triangles into the oil, in batches (around 4-6 at a time depending on pan size) and fry on a medium high heat until golden brown – about a couple of minutes on each side.
• Note: when you drop the triangles in the oil, they should rise to the top. As soon as they come to the top, spoon some of the hot oil from the pan onto each one to allow it to puff up. This helps to create the hollowness inside and allows them to become fluffy.
• Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

TIP: They are delicious eaten when freshly made but will keep well for a few days in an airtight container. They do also freeze perfectly well – just make sure you warm them through so they are nice and fluffy.

Ceramist Tessa Rudnick is back on the wheel and throwing like never before! Her new range of stoneware vases and glaze dipped and paint splashed bowls will put a unique stamp on your home kitchen-living space.