Welcome To Swahili Food
If you’ve tried an old fashion donut then you’ll have an idea about what a yeast free donut tastes like. I think it tastes like love and good memories if you ask me. In Mombasa, we call these Donasi. I always wondered where the name came from. If you say Donuts in a slow-swahili-kind of way [insert Mombasa accent]… you will quickly realise how the name probably came about. This is purely my own hypothesis though. If you know how the name came about, please impart your wisdom with me in the comment section. I love learning!
Delicately spiced with fragrant cardamom and doused in icing sugar, a real treat for young and old.
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This recipe is for making Donasi. East Africa’s version of an old fashioned donut.
Fresh cardamom works great if thats’s what you have. Just remove the seeds from the pods and crush them into a powder
You can use a glass to cut out the donasi shapes. The measuring cups from medicine bottles work great to cut the smaller shapes out. This is a great opportunity to go shape hunting around the house with the kids to find things to use.
I tried the recipe but the dough was extremely sticky even after leaving it in the fridge for 2 hrs… couldnt knead until I added more flour which didnt help much,, kinda made the donuts come out dense than soft. But the taste was good.
Any advise?
Hey Khadija, It could be the type of flour used. Some brands have a higher gluten content. I suggest adding more flour before the rest period so, making it a little firmer than usual. After the rest time is over, lightly dust your countertop and work with the cold dough.