Fried Dough · Morning Snack

Mikate (Congolese Beignets)

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The same fried dough balls turn up right across Africa under other names — beignets in Francophone Central Africa, puff-puff in Nigeria and Cameroon, bofrot in Ghana.

A simple yeasted dough of flour, sugar, and water is left to rise, then torn into rough balls and deep-fried until the outside turns golden and crackly while the inside stays soft and airy. Vendors in Kinshasa fry them fresh each morning and sell them hot, a few at a time, in paper or small plastic bags.

Why it's made this way: Flour, yeast, and oil are cheap and shelf-stable, which made mikate an affordable breakfast that street sellers could fry in small batches through the morning.