Maandazi is a very common recipe in kenya. It is mostly preferred as breakfast or a snack. I love maandazis.  First, because they are easy to cook. Second, their is more than one type. There is so many different ways to cook maandazis that you can't get bored of them.

Today I will share my favorite maandazis recipe; lemon maandazi. They are called lemon maandazi cause they are cooked using lemon zest. This is great cause lemon peels contain benefits that most people are not aware of. They contain calcium, potassium and fiber. Just eating maandazi with lemon peels is good for your immune system, digestive system and heart. 

Enough reason for you to try this recipe.

Let's get to it;

INGREDIENTS


3 cups of all purpose flour( baking flour also work)

3 tablespoons of baking powder

About 3 table spoons of margarine or oil.

6 tablespoons of sugar

3 tablespoons of vanilla essence

3 lemons.

About one cup of warm water
Flour sugar margarine lemons water baking powder vanilla essence

PROCESS


  1. Sift 3 cups of flour into a bowl using a sieve. Sifting makes the flour lighter. It also makes it easy to mix with other ingredients.
  2. Add 3 tablespoons of baking powder
  3. Add your margarine and mix for about a minute using a fork.
  4. Add sugar and vanilla essence and mix again. This mixing helps the ingredients to spread well on all parts of the flour.
  5. Grate the lemon peels using a grater to produce the zest. Now you have to be careful during this process so as not to grate the white part. Make sure you are taking the peel only. Going past that will make the maandazi bitter from the lemon. Again mix the zest with your other ingredients.
  6. Add warm water little by little as you knead the flour. Don't pour all the water at once cause it might be too much.
  7. Knead your dough until it's consistent. It should also not be sticky on your hands or bowl when you are done. The best way to knead is on a flat surfaces with some space. Kneaded dough in a blue basin
  8. After your dough is ready, let it rest for about 30mins.
  9. Then divide the dough into about 8 or 9 parts. This mostly depends on the size of maandazis you want. I had 9 pieces for my recipe.
  10. As you work on the dough, heat oil into a pan until you see some bubbles.
  11. Sprinkle some dough on a flat surface and roll the first piece on it. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch  thickness. Roll out into a circle.
  12.  How thick do you like your maandazis?? Comment down below. 
  13. Divide the rolled out dough into four pieces. And start putting them into the oil when you see it's ready. Do this for all the pieces.
  14. First try with one piece. If there is some bubbles around it then the oil is ready. Of the bubbles are too much then the oil is too hot and that's not recommended.
  15. Fry your maandazis for about 2mins on each side until golden brown.
  16. When they are ready, drain them into a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
Eight Maandazis on a White plate

Serve with either tea, milk or juice.

It's as easy as that. The process is quite fast also.

What other recipes would you want to learn about?? Comment down below.

If you try the recipe come back and tell me how you like it.

Enjoy!