Malawian Mandasi

written by James Colquhoun

Our main programme in Malawi is our Children’s Mobile Clinics, in essencea GP practice on wheels working in the villages far from the tarmac roads. It is a tough gig, the demand for our services is enormous and on our busiest day we treated over 500 sick children.

For me the life-saver when energy levels started to dip is a delicious Mandasi fried doughnut or two. This recipe is from our Malawi Laboratory Technologist, Walinase.

Ingredients

2 cups of all-purpose flour
¼ cup of sugar
1½ teaspoons instant yeast
¼ teaspoon salt
Warm water
Mixing dish or bowl.
Large saucepan
Frying oil as needed

Preparation Time: About 1 hour

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Instructions:

Step 1

Combine two cups all-purpose flour with a ¼ cup of sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of instant yeast and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a mixing dish. Pour warm water little by little into the mixture until the dough comes together. Knead the dough in the bowl until no longer sticks to the hands, cover and let it rise in the warm place preferably a mild sun for 30 to 40 minutes.

Step 2

Mix/knead the mixture again and mould it into balls of your choice and put them on a flat surface and cover them again for 10 to 15 minutes in medium heat.

Step 3

Heat oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat fry the moulded balls in the hot oil until puffed, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the balls and continue frying until golden brown, transfer the balls onto paper towels to drain excess oil. You can serve it with any seasonal fresh fruit juice of your choice.

Asia