How to make soft mandazis this Christmas

By , December 16, 2025

Christmas is all about warmth, family, and delicious food and nothing says festive treat like a batch of soft, fluffy mandazi. These slightly sweet, golden pastries are perfect for breakfast, tea time, or as a snack during holiday gatherings.

Ingredients

  • 4 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup of sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/4 cup Melted butter/margarine or just vegetable oil.
  • 1 tbsp lemon rinds
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup of warm water or milk.
  • Oil for deep frying

Method

Make the lemon rinds

Make the lemon rinds by fast-grating the exterior of the lemons using the small side of a grater. For the best flavor, use only fresh lemons. Two to three lemons are enough, depending on the size.

Mix the dry ingredients.

In a clean bowl, add the dry ingredients flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix everything, and then add the butter or margarine and mix in properly. It should form a crumble-like flour texture. Add the lemon rinds and mix well.

Add the wet ingredients.

Next, create a well at the centre of the flour and other dry ingredients, then add water or milk. I mostly use water as it’s still great tasting. But if you like the ones made using milk, add them here.

Knead it

Start by mixing everything to incorporate the water into the flour. This will help to form a shaggy mass of dough. Next, set this mixture on a clean table surface and knead it. Keep kneading for about 6-8 minutes.

It should become smooth and elastic, a texture you can achieve even with a stand mixer.

Let it rest

Cover it with a damp cloth or cling film and let it sit for at least 1 hour. According to Mum, this step is crucial to the great mandazis. She makes her dough after dinner, allows it to rest overnight, and cooks the mandazis in the morning.

Of course, I’ve tried to make the mandazis after 30 minutes, but they’re never as perfect as when you let them sleep in. Let them sit for about 3 hours or overnight, and you will see the difference. They will always rise slightly and rest, too. Note that we don’t use yeast, so they won’t double in size.

Roll it

Lightly flour your working surface and then set the dough to roll it out. You want to roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness. Then cut the mandazis into your favorite shapes. You can make it all here: square, rectangle, triangle, or circular.

Fry it

Meanwhile, set the oil on the heat source to cook. You want to retain the medium heat during the cooking process, but also you can use a small piece of dough to find out if it’s cooked. If the small dough goes deep into the oil and immediately rises, it’s ready for cooking.

Set a few pieces of your cutout dough, let it rise, flip over, and cook to a golden brown before you flip over to cook fully.

Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and set in a clean bowl, letting it cool down a little bit. Do the same for the remaining pieces.

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