Motswana recipe
How to make Magwinya (fat cakes)
magwinya
Across southern Africa

Balls of soft yeast dough deep-fried until golden, like a doughnut without a hole and without much sugar. They are sold hot from roadside stalls in the morning and eaten plain, with jam, or with soup or a stew.
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour
- 7 to 10 g (1 sachet) instant dried yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- About 350 ml lukewarm water
- Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the water little by little and knead for about 8 minutes into a soft, slightly sticky dough.
- Cover and leave in a warm place for about an hour, until doubled in size.
- Heat the oil in a deep pan to about 170 °C. Pull off golf-ball-sized pieces of dough and fry a few at a time for 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until golden and cooked inside.
- Drain on kitchen paper and eat warm. Take great care with hot oil, and never leave the pan unattended.
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