Mahamri is a delightfully spicy mandazi dish originating on the Swahili Coast of Kenya and Tanzania.
Also known as traditional Swahili doughnuts, Mahamri are mostly triangular in shape, made from dough that has been leavened with yeast and spiced with freshly ground cardamom spice.
Why Use Sourdough Starter?
Because I have been on the Sourdough journey for quite a while now, I developed this recipe using my homemade Sourdough Starter rather than storebought leavening agents.
As you might know, leavening your mahamri dough with a sourdough starter is the healthier way to go.
Sourdough Starter is a leavening agent, naturally formed and containing wild yeasts and other useful probiotics.
These microorganisms work on your dough to break down the nutrients further, making it easier for your body to digest them.
This breaking down happens especially because of the long fermenting process characteristic of sourdough recipes.
Sourdough Mahamri is no different as you will see in the instructions. I typically let my Mahamri dough rest for at least twelve hours before frying.
You can even give your dough a longer fermentation period if you have a fridge.
After a twelve-hour rest on your kitchen counter, cover well to keep the dough from drying out on the surface and transfer to the fridge to give it an additional overnight ferment.
This additional long ferment breaks the nutrients down further.
A Delightful Breakfast Recipe
Once you try this Sourdough Mahamri recipe, it will be one of your go-to breakfast recipes that you, your household, and your guests will enjoy.
We enjoy this recipe so much. Even as I write this, my children are wondering when I will make Sourdough Mahamri next.
I trust this recipe will be useful in helping you enhance your hospitality for the glory of God.
Are you wondering how to make your own sourdough starter at home?
Find here my easy Sourdough Starter Recipe using wholewheat flour
Here is another Sourdough recipe you will enjoy:
Easy Sourdough Mahamri Recipe| Swahili Donuts with Sourdough
Equipment
- 1 Deep frying pan
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 2 mixing bowls
- 1 Deep frying perforated spoon
Ingredients
- 1 cup active bubbly sourdough starter
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup sugar or as preferred
- 1 tablespoon cardamom spice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp marge/ butter
- Warm or room temperature water (1 cup plus a little more to form a soft sticky dough)
- Cooking oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Step One:In a suitable bowl, combine the flour, the sugar, the salt, and the cardamom spice.Mix with a wooden spoon until evenly combined.Step Two:
- Add the marge or butter to the dry ingredients above.Rub it into the dry ingredients using your fingertips until evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture. Set aside.Step Three:
- In a separate mixing bowl, add the sourdough starter and one cup of water. Mix with your wooden spoon until well combined.Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix with your wooden spoon until all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the wet ingredients.Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix with the wooden spoon. As the mixture begins to stiffen, set the wooden spoon aside and begin to bring the mixture together with your hands.Begin to add the extra water to the dough, a little at a time, kneading each time, until the ingredients are well incorporated and you have a soft sticky dough.Step Four:
- After 30 minutes, transfer the dough to a floured surface.Give the dough a good knead with your hands for 5 to 10 minutes.Next, transfer the dough to a suitable bowl that’s big enough to give your dough space to proof or rise.Brush the surface of the dough with a little cooking oil to keep it soft and supple as it rises.Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow it to rest as it ferments for 8 to 12 hours. This can be a whole day or overnight rest.*Keep in mind that you can beat the dough down after this ferment, transfer it to the fridge, and cover it with a suitable lid or foil paper so it can continue to slowly ferment for a longer period before frying.Step Five:
- Beat down the dough and give it a knead for a minute or two just to cause it to come together really well.
- Roll it out on a floured surface to a thickness of about a centimeter.*Making them thinner than that may cause them to harden after frying. Making them thicker on the other hand may mean they may take too long to cook on the inside.Using a suitable bread knife, cut the dough into triangular shapes that are characteristic of the Mahamri shapes. Alternatively, you can use a triangular cookie cutter if you have one.
- Arrange the pieces on your surface, and cover them with clean kitchen towels to keep the pieces from drying on the surface.Allow them to rest for about 30 minutes to an hour.Step Six:
- Heat up the cooking oil in a deep-frying pan but don’t let the oil get too hot.I like to use one of the pieces to test the cooking oil to ensure it’s just hot enough for frying. I slide it carefully into the oil. I then let it fry to a golden color on both sides. Once this has happened, I know the oil is hot enough to start frying the rest of the pieces.*Keep in mind that if you let the oil get smoking hot, your Mahamri will fry and turn to a golden color without cooking through. On the other hand, if the cooking oil is not hot enough, the pieces may absorb the oil as they fry and you will not therefore enjoy your Sourdough Mahamri.
- Once the cooking oil is hot enough, begin to carefully slide in the rest of the pieces, a few at a time depending on the size of your pan. Ensure to leave space of at least a centimeter between the pieces. Crowding them in will slow down the cooking process, causing them to harden as well. The mahamri pieces will also absorb some of the cooking oil too.As you add the pieces to the oil, immediately turn them over as they float to the surface. This reduces the chance of them forming big airspaces, unless, of course, you don’t mind the air spaces!Let them fry to a golden color on that underside. Turn them over and fry to a golden color on the opposite side.Transfer to a suitable platter, tray, or bowl lined with paper towels. The towels help absorb any excess oil.Step Seven:
- Fry the remaining Sourdough Mahamri pieces until all are done.
- Serve with suitable beverage and accompaniment once they’ve cooled sufficiently.Enhance your hospitality for the glory of God
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