Sweet Dumplings/Kaimati
One of the most famous delicacies of the coast of Kenya (and most parts of East Africa) are these crunchy dumplings in a sweet sugar syrup known as kaimati or kalimati. They make for a delightful snack, enjoyable at any time; as a starter sweet before a meal, for a light dessert with coffee, for breakfast if you have a sweet tooth, with tea in the evening, midnight sweet craving etc etc etc.I especially love to have these at iftar time in Ramadhan. Even if you’ve never heard of them before, but have a sweet tooth or enjoy the occasional sweet snack, you MUST try this easy recipe! Some people like the sugar syrup to form a solid coating over each dumpling, as in my recipes for mitai (sweet diamonds). I on the other hand prefer these to be lightly coated with a slightly sticky syrup as shown in the photo.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose/plain flour
- 1/2 cup yogurt plus a little water
- 1 tbsp. ghee or butter
- 1 level tsp. instant yeast
Ingredients for Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp. powdered cardamom
- lemon rinds or saffron threads whichever flavour you prefer
Instructions
- Boil syrup and cool completelyMix the flour with all the above ingredients and beat thoroughly with your hand. It should be thick enough for you to be able to pick without it flowing down between your fingers, but not so thick that it’s a dough. Not runny and yet not too thick.Cover and let it rise for about half an hour. Touch some oil with your fingertips and mix the mixture again.Heat oil, then pick small portions and drop in the hot oil, then immediately lower the heat and fry on very low heat, stirring the Kaimatis continuously so that they color on all sides and get super crunchy.From heat place directly into the cooled sugar syrup.Serve and enjoy!
thanks for easy recipes.my kaimati are shapless +tails.why!? Naseem
It depends on the consistency of the batter, also when dropping the batter into the oil, if you keep your hand tooo far away from the surface of the oil, the balls droop as they land and form tails or become mis-shapen. Dip your hand in water, pick some batter, and bring your hand as close to the oil as you can without touching the surface and gently drop the ball into the oil. With practice, they will be perfect.
y use yogourt?i am used to milk or coconut milk?will yogourt be tasty kaimati?let me try .
tnx so much i have been living at coast but never knew how to cook this kaimati what is syrup that am in sweden wat do i use?jazakalah kher.
Saida, the recipe of the syrup is included dear. Please check.
my nigerian friends make Kaimati they call them puff puffs!!! lakini zao bila yoghurt and the syrup similar taste though
How do I achieve the solid flecky coating and not the wet sticky one?
Please check under this recipe for a solid coating: Mitai
Ok my kaimati had tails but read the above advice so will try the way u suggested, also I felt that the oil had soaked in.. do u think instead of 1 tbsp of yeast as per yr intructions, shd I use 1/2?
Also my syrup turned too thick and it was like coated with sugar and I like light syrup.
Otherwise it was yummy.. tks
You can try with less yeast, as for the sugar syrup, did you stir the syrup as it was boiling? That causes crystallisation. Once the syrup starts simmering do not stir it, just keep the heat low.
i used the same amount of sugar and water for the syrup but it’s usually too much and too sweet.i want them to look like yours.
Once the syrup begins boiling DO NOT stir it. Stirring it forms crystals and the result will not be the same.
A.A thank you fo your lovely recipe.I normally use 1 egg but will try use yoghurt.Does the egg do the same thing as the yoghurt.
W/Salaam, yes egg and yoghurt basically perform the same function in this recipe.
can we use whole wheat flour for same outcome
Have not tried this with whole wheat flour.
Salaam alaikum.It was difficult to fry the balls . one side would become golden brown but the other side remained white only. I was stirring continuously but it was difficult. But somehow I managed to fry but the balls became soft after putting in the sugar syrup. please advice.
W/Salaam, if you keep the heat on low as they are frying and keep stirring they will all get evenly coloured, just takes a bit of patience to get there. You need to fry on low heat so they get crispy and don’t leave them in the sugar syrup, if left in there they would obviously keep absorbing the syrup and therefore become soft.
Thanks for the recipe. I made Kalimati after many years, and they turned out great!! My family enjoyed them!!!
Are they supposed to taste like Jalebi? Otherwise, I think I made them wrong. I had to make mine really tiny because if I made them big, they would come out flat. When I made them small, they were perfect circles.
Yes they do taste somewhat like jalebis.
Can’t wait to try this – thank you! Am I to put the kaimati in the sugar syrup as soon as each batch comes out of the oil as I continue to the frying process or can I wait until I have fried all the kaimati and then place it all in the sugar syrup ? And how long must they remain in the sugar syrup / are they to be removed immediately they are coated with the syrup ?
Love your recipes, I wish you would really “dumb it down” (for lack of a better word) for people like me who really know nothing about cooking. Thanks again, love your site!
I normally just fry the whole batch then tip them into the syrup whilst they are still hot. Once they cool, they will not absorb the syrup all the way inside, that is why it is preferable to dip them in it whilst they are still very hot. The amount of time to leave them in they syrup depends how much you prefer them to absorb. A quick swirl is normally enough, but you can have the extra syrup on the side to warm up and drizzle on top before serving if you want.
I absolutely love this kaimati recipe. Everyone marvels at the kaimatis i’m making now. THUMBS UP.
can i use vanilla flavoured yoghurt
Yes you can! 🙂
Hi,plz can i have kaimati za sheera recipe
Hi, this IS the recipe of kaimati za sheera, just serve it with the syrup.
hi,i still dont get the rite syrup consistency as per ur measurement,cos i take exact measure on preparing the syrup but it turns out to be toooooooo sweet and thick,i dont stir in between,so how can immerse my kaimati on a thick syrup,please tell me the magic behind it……..dear!!!!!
Whenever the syrup turns out too thick for your preference, simply add a bit of warm water and mix it up, it will thin out beautifully.
hi,i tried them kalmati but were horrible,i dont where i was wrong???pls tell me again how much 1/2yogurt equals to in ltrs,or should i take the measurement of milk instead?????i also had a problem in preparing ma syrup,pls tell me 1/2 cup of water equals to how many ltrs
Hi, no do not use milk, the recipe needs yoghurt. Not sure what went wrong but give it another try and please follow the recipe accurately for best results. 🙂 Half cup of any liquid would be 100ml.
By yoghurt u mean maziwa mala/lala?
Yes that is right.
Juz prepared this for my guests n I scored great points, thnx a mil, U rooock!!!
Salaams Fauzia,
It is Ali again, and just wanted to let you know that my kalimati’s turned out awesome! The chashni went all the way inside and were crispy. Thank you very much for your recipe. Are you from Dar es Salaam?
Thanks,
Ali
W/Salaam, thanks for the awesome feedback! No I am not from DSM but have been there countless times and love the beautiful country. 🙂
Can i put both maziwa lala and eggs?
No need of eggs for this recipe.
Aoa fauzia what is white
Aoa fauzia what is white flour
Plain/All purpose flour.
Plain/All purpose flour.
asalam aleikum fauzia
asalam aleikum fauzia,nimejaribu kupika hii recipee leo but ndani hazikuiva.plz help wat cud hav gone wrong?
W/Salaam, umetumia hamira? Na
W/Salaam, umetumia hamira? Na wakati wa kuzikaanga, moto labda ulikuwa juu sana?
Salam fauzia, the website was
Salam fauzia, the website was out of order. N i was stuck lol
FKF is back..enjoy
FKF is back..enjoy
S a sis. I made the Klamaths
S a sis. I made the Klamaths yesterday n it turned out excellent. Just that when I mixed it in the syrup, it got stuck..i had to remove one at a time with my fingers n put it on the serving bowl. pls assist…
How long did you boil the
How long did you boil the syrup? Did you stir it during boiling?
Well how many min should i
Well how many min should i boil it for? Yes I stirred it all the time none stop.
That was the problem. You
That was the problem. You should never stir sugar syrup once it starts boiling. It makes it crystalise.
Sa Fauzia
Sa Fauzia
What should the consistency of the syrup be? One thread or two thread consistency. Your response is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Two thread. 🙂
Two thread. 🙂
hi Fauzia
hi Fauzia
i normaly mix mine with very heavy coconut milk. yday i tried ur recipe wit yogurt n ghee n they r amazzziiiiing n very crispy:D
jazakallah
made it, although they didnt
made it, although they didnt turn out to be golden there were more brown i think because of the heat and hot oil but otherwise they were perfect taste,sugar,everything thank you
AA I love ur site, want know
AA I love ur site, want know if I can use self rising yeast in place of instant yeast
W/Salaam, thanks! SR flour
W/Salaam, thanks! SR flour has baking powder, not yeast. So it cannot be used in place of yeast.
I dunno wat happend
I dunno wat happend immediately I put them into the hot oil they swelled up n got holes they turned out suuuper oily… why…I halfed the recipe*
Are you sure you halved ALL
Are you sure you halved ALL the ingredients and not just some of them? Sounds like the measurements were off or the oil was not hot enough.
I measured properly that im
I measured properly that im sure of n I had forgotten the oil…so it was literally smoking hot…it could be I let it rise too long maybe??
Maybe, the only way to know
Maybe, the only way to know for sure is to try the recipe again. Let me know how it goes.
Ok so I retried the kaimati n
Ok so I retried the kaimati n I ddnt let them rise too long…turned out fabulous!!
Can you quantify the cup in
Can you quantify the cup in terms of gms please?
Please use this note:
Please use this note:
http://www.fauziaskitchenfun.com/my-measurements
Can you convert the size of
Can you convert the size of the cup in grams please. Thank you.
Please refer to the note
Please refer to the note given above under your previous comment.
Can i use sour cream instead
Can i use sour cream instead of yoghurt??
Yes you can.
Yes you can.
Assalaamakm! They turned out
Assalaamakm! They turned out remarkable! Alhamdullilah . thanks .
Remarkable alhamdullilah
Remarkable alhamdullilah
Can i use milk instead ofyogurt??
You will need the yoghurt for this recipe to turn out perfectly authentic.
I made this and alhamdulilah turned out great so yummy Jazakallah for sharing
Assalamualaikum, can I prepare this batter 1 day ahead?
W/Salaam, no this batter is best made and used fresh.