#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis

We have the secret to the most amazingly soft mandazis plus the one ingredient that will make them stand out.

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis Pulse Live Kenya

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup diluted maziwa lala (buttermilk)

3/4 cup margarine

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons of cardamom

3 heaped tablespoons coconut cream (optional)

Oil for deep frying

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis Pulse Live Kenya

Cardamom

This is the spice that gives foods all sorts of Mombasa vibes. In Swahili it's called iliki or eliki and it always adds a subtle but unmistakable aroma to baked goods. Cardamom is also packed with so many health benefits including anti-cancer properties, reducing disease-causing bacteria in the gut and anti-diabetic effects.

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis Pulse Live Kenya

Method

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and margarine).
Use your hands to rub the margarine into the flour until there are no lumps of margarine.

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis Pulse Live Kenya

Pour all the buttermilk into the mixture and knead into a dough. With these measurements your dough will not be sticky but if it is, just brush some more self-raising flour and continue kneading for about 15 minutes.
Set the dough aside and cover with a dry dishcloth for another 15 minutes. In these 15 minutes the sugar particles should completely dissolve into the dough so that the mandazis have even caramelization (browning) when cooked.
Cut the dough into 5 pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out each ball and using a cookie cutter cut-out the desired shapes of your mandazis. We used a heart-shaped cutter. You could also use a knife to cut out triangles.

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis Pulse Live Kenya

As you do this, pour some cooking oil into a deep sufuria (sauce pan) and heat the oil. The secret to soft mandazis is in heating the oil until it is piping hot. An easy way to tell that your oil is hot is placing the tip of a wooden mwiko (cooking stick) or a toothpick into the oil, if the oil bubbles immediately then it's hot. If you're scared of hot oil splattering and blistering your money-makers then wait until the oil starts to evaporate or smoke.

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis Pulse Live Kenya

Now all that's left is to deep fry the heart-shaped mandazis and serve them to someone you love! (You love yourself, don't you?)

If it is true that the way to someone's heart is through the stomach, then these mandazis will get you there and keep you there...thank us later.

#RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis (Serving suggestion) #RecipeWithAPulseliveTwist: Soft heart-shaped Kenyan cardamom Mandazis (Serving suggestion) Pulse Live Kenya