Destination
Mombasa
The story
Mitai ("mee-TAI") is coastal Kenya's small-format fried sweet: little twists of yeasted, cardamom-scented sweet dough deep-fried until golden and crackly, then dipped or drenched in a warm panela-and-cardamom syrup so the outsides shine and the insides stay soft. Sold from stalls at Mombasa's Old Town markets and along the Malindi beachfront in small paper bags, six or eight to a serving, always alongside a small cup of chai spiced with cardamom and cloves.
Method
In a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, salt, cardamom and yeast. Add the melted ghee, egg and warm milk. Mix on low until it comes together, then knead 6 to 8 minutes on medium until smooth and elastic. Cover and rest at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled.
Combine the panela, water, cardamom, cloves, lemon peel and salt in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the panela dissolves. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Strain out the cardamom pods and cloves. Keep warm.
Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 30 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin rope about 15cm long. Twist each rope into a small figure-of-eight (loop one end over the other and press to seal). Repeat with the rest.
Cover the shaped mitai with a clean tea towel and rest 15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a deep pot to 170°C (340°F). Fry the mitai in batches of 5 or 6 for 2 to 3 minutes, turning gently, until deep gold. Lift out onto a rack over kitchen paper.
While still warm, dip each mitai briefly into the warm panela syrup (5 to 10 seconds), turning to coat, then lift out onto a rack to drain. Repeat with the rest.
Serve warm in a small paper bag or on a plate, alongside cups of Kenyan masala chai. Best eaten within a few hours.
Tips
- The syrup should be warm, not hot. If the syrup is too hot, it will soak into the mitai and turn them soggy. Warm (comfortable to the finger, not scalding) is right.
- Dip briefly, not soak. 5 to 10 seconds in the syrup is enough to coat the outside. Longer and the mitai absorb too much syrup and lose their crackle.
- Cardamom is the whole flavour. Ground cardamom in both the dough and the syrup is what makes mitai specifically Swahili. Don't substitute or skip.
- 170°C, not hotter. Above 180°C the dough browns before puffing, which gives you flat, dense mitai instead of the classic light, twisted golden shape.
- Best day-of. Mitai keep 2 days in a sealed tin but are at their best within a few hours of frying. The syrup coating slightly softens the outsides over time.
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