Kenya - Maandazi and Chai

Background
Like most East African countries, Kenya's cuisine is a product of migrating tribes, exchange with Arab nations via the spice trade, and European colonial powers. English rule brought the influence of Indian servants.
Kenyan breakfast has several major staples. The first is ugali, which we made for Tanzania (and, according to our new cookbook, is meant to be bland and take on the flavor of accompanying dishes). Another option was uji, which is a porridge made from millet. We decided to go with maandazi which is fried dough flavored with cardamom and cinnamon. They are usually accompanied by the local version of chai.
Our book for this breakfast was Foods of Kenya from the series A Taste of Culture. It is a very thin book, written for schoolchildren. It gives a succinct overview of the cuisine framed in terms of major ingredients and when they are eaten. This book does not have a lot of recipes but it includes the cultural and contextual uses of the foods in more detail. We will probably consider using children's cookbooks again in the future based on the usefulness of this little book.

Maandazi (24 pieces)

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cardamom seed pods, shelled and ground
• pinch of salt
• 1 beaten egg
• ½ cup milk
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• oil

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.
2. Mix egg, milk, and butter in a separate bowl.
3. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the flour while mixing.
4. Knead the dough until it is smooth. Slowly add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
5. Cover the dough in a bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.
6. Roll the dough out on a floured surface until it is at most ½ inch thick.
7. Cut the dough into small triangles or squares as you desire.
8. Heat the oil in a medium pan on medium.
9. When the oil is hot add the dough and fry until it is golden. Then flip and cook the other side.
10. Place of a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Chai

• 1 cup water
• 2 cups milk
• 4 tsp black tea
• 8 tsp sugar or to taste
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamom pods

1. Bring the water to a boil, then stir in remaining ingredients.
2. Reduce heat to medium, and return mixture to the boil.
3. Turn off heat and let steep to desired strength.  Strain before serving.

Results and Discussion
These were really good doughnuts—a nice crispy outside with a moist inside. The cardamom was a really good flavor. It was subtle but it added to the taste and aroma. Dipping them into the chai lets you increase the sweetness as desired.
One problem we encountered was an occasionally uncooked middle. I think this problem came from the dough being too thick. In the future I would treat the ½ inch thickness as an upper limit and go with ¼ inch in the future. Rolling the dough thinner would also give a larger yield. I think I cut the piece too large as I got only half of the anticipated 24 pastries.
The book recommends eating them hot, and as a fan of Krispy Kreme I cannot argue with this approach to the doughnut family, but these are just as tasty cold and would make a great dessert.