Kaimati

Medium·20 min

Crunchy little Swahili dough balls deep-fried until golden, then tossed in a fragrant cardamom sugar syrup. Crisp outside and tender within, they glisten with sticky sweetness and are a coastal festive treat.

Kaimati are sweet, syrup-soaked dough balls of the Kenyan coast, brought along the Indian Ocean spice routes by Arab and Persian traders and embraced by the Swahili and Bajuni, especially at Ramadan and celebrations. They share a lineage with the Middle Eastern luqaimat, recorded as early as the 13th century in al-Baghdadi's cookery book as luqmat al-qadi, the "judge's morsels" (the name traces to the Arabic luqma, a "morsel" or "mouthful"). The same sweet spread along Arab and Ottoman trade routes to become Turkish lokma and Greek loukoumades, and on the East African coast, kaimati.

A thin, brittle shell shatters into a soft, faintly tangy crumb, all of it lacquered in syrup that is fragrant with cardamom and often saffron, rose or lemon. Each bite is sticky, sweet and addictive, with a gentle yeasty depth underneath.

Fermenting the batter creates gas bubbles for a light interior, while frying at moderate heat builds a porous crust that grips the syrup as it cools and crystallizes lightly.

Variations

Saffron or rose-scented syrup, a squeeze of lemon in the syrup, or coconut added to the batter.

On the Palate

Where Kaimati sits in the Kenyan flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 6

2 cupsFlour

1.5 cups (for syrup)Sugar

1 cupCoconut Milk

1 tspYeast

1 tsp, groundCardamom

1 tspVanilla

for fryingOil

How it's made

8 steps · 20 min

1
6 min
Whisk flour, a little sugar and yeast with coconut milk or water into a thick batter.
2
60 min
Cover and let the batter ferment until bubbly and risen.
Watch out
Wait until the batter is puffed and covered in bubbles and smells faintly sour — under-fermented and the balls fry dense instead of light and airy.
3
12 min
Make a syrup by boiling sugar and water with cardamom until slightly thick.
4
5 min
Heat oil for deep frying to a moderate temperature.
Watch out
Test the oil with a drop of batter — it should sizzle and float up steadily; too hot browns the outside before the middle cooks, too cool and they drink oil.
5
8 min
Drop small spoonfuls or piped beads of batter into the oil.
6
10 min
Fry, turning, until the balls are golden and crisp all over.
7
4 min
Drain briefly, then toss the hot balls in the warm syrup to coat.
Watch out
Toss the balls while they're still hot and the syrup warm — that's when the porous crust drinks in the syrup; let either go cold and it just slides off.
8
3 min
Let the syrup set slightly and serve.