East African coconut doughnuts (Mandazi)

1. Warm the coconut milk to lukewarm, stir in the yeast and a teaspoon of the sugar and leave to foam for 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl mix the flour with the remaining sugar, ground cardamom and salt, add the egg and the yeasty coconut milk and knead for 8-10 minutes into a smooth, soft, non-sticky dough.

3. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled.

4. Roll out the dough 1 cm thick, cut into 10-12 cm rounds and cut each into four triangles; rest for another 15 minutes.

5. Heat the oil to 170 °C in a pan and fry the triangles in batches for 1-2 minutes per side until golden and puffed.

6. Drain on kitchen paper and serve warm with tea, coffee or uji.

Tip: Mandazi are the favourite doughnuts of the Swahili coast, eaten for breakfast and with afternoon tea; they are only mildly sweet, so they are also served with stews. The oil temperature is key: too hot and the inside stays raw, too cool and they soak up oil. You can flavour them with cinnamon instead of cardamom.