UGANDA ~ Ever since we visited Uganda, we enjoy making mandazi now and then: light fluffy doughnuts. They are a great snack on their own but we love them paired with bharazi (will share recipe soon!), an East African dish of pigeon peas simmered in coconut milk.

What you need

• 60 ml (1/4 cup) warm water

• 1/2 tsp sugar

• 1/2 tsp dried yeast

• 50g creamed coconut  (alternative: the thickened top of canned coconut)

• 60 ml (1/4 cup) water

• 180 g (1.5 cups) all-purpose flour

• 100 g (1/2 cup) sugar

• 1/3 teaspoon coarsely ground green cardamom

• Sunflower oil, for frying

What you do

Place the warm water in a bowl and sprinkle with the sugar and yeast and let it develop for 10 minutes.

• Mix coconut cream and water, so it dissolves.

• Mix flour, sugar, cardamom and yeast into a bowl.

• Slowly stir the coconut cream into this mixture and then knead it well.

• Cover the dough and let it rest overnight.

• Divide the dough into 3 equal parts and roll each into a 15 cm (6 inch) circle about half a cm (0.25 inch) thick.

• Cut these circle into quarters.

• Let them rest on a floured surface until they double in size (will take about an hour).

• Deep-fry the mandazi in oil on medium heat, about 190°C (375°F) until golden brown.

• Remove them with a slotted spoon to a baking tray covered with absorbent kitchen paper to remove the excess oil.

• Enjoy these East African mandaazi, as a snack, with a curry of bharazi, a dip or with a cup of spicy tea.