Fried Bread · Coconut & Cardamom
Mahamri
Photo: Omondi / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
A pinch of ground cardamom and a splash of coconut milk in the dough are what separate a proper mahamri from a plain mandazi doughnut.
Triangular pieces of yeasted dough enriched with coconut milk and cardamom are deep-fried until puffed and golden. Street vendors in Dar es Salaam sell them hot in the early morning, stacked in baskets alongside mbaazi and sweet spiced tea.
Why it's made this way: The technique traces back to Omani and Indian traders who settled the Swahili coast, and mahamri has become the everyday breakfast bread of coastal Tanzania, distinct from plain mandazi by its cardamom scent.
More from Tanzania
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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