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African beignets (puff puff) with mango sauce

September 16, 2020 by Magali Mutombo

African beignets (puff puff) with mango sauce
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African beignets, also known as mikate in Congo, puff-puff in western Africa, are a very popular dessert/snack in Africa. These beignets come with a mango sauce with mint leaves. They are so delicious; I could eat them at any time of the day. Contrary to New Orleans beignets, the mikate are made with just flour and sugar, which are dipped fried later on. 

Both of my grandmothers would make and sell them in front of their houses. I used to wait for the ones that just came out of the fryer and couldn’t wait to eat them. I mostly ate them with peanuts or peanut butter. 

I have been researching for a while for another condiment that would complement these beignets well. It is not a secret that I love mangoes. So, I just thought of pureed mango and adding herbs to it to bring another flavour. That is one thing that I find amazing about mango. It is so versatile; there are a lot of things that you can do with it. Here is a great mango recipe that you can try.

What yeast do you use for this recipe?

There are so many different ways to make African beignets. Some people use baking powder to help the dough make the perfect round shape. Others prefer to use active yeast and let the dough rest for several hours to triple its volume. Here is a great recipe with active yeast.

The most popular recipe is the one with active yeast. However, I prefer to use self-rising flour for mine. The first reason is because I don’t like to wait for hours for my dough to be ready. It is so much faster to use self-rising flour and you don’t run into not having your dough rise properly (which has happened to me so many times!). The second reason is that I don’t like the taste of active yeast. I feel like the beignets have a strong yeast taste that I don’t enjoy. It competes with the flavors from the mango sauce and the combination is not as succulent. Leaving that dough to rise for 4-6 hours only makes the yeast taste stronger. 

Again, this is a personal preference. If you don’t mind that taste, by all means use active yeast.

How do I make African beignets (mikate, puff-puff)?

It is very simple. I put my flour in a bowl and make a hole in the middle. 

I pour the sugar in that hole and start adding the lukewarm water progressively while incorporating the flour.

beignets dough in white bowl
African beignets (mikate) with mango sauce

Once I have poured all the water, I start to vigorously mix the dough. It is a great arm work out! LOL

You will know that the dough is ready when air bubbles start bursting while mixing.In a small pot or fryer, heat up the oil to 350F. The oil needs to be hot but NOT smoking hot.

Start by putting a little bit of dough with your fingers or small spoon. Whatever way you prefer. The hot oil and the yeast from the flour will help from those perfect round shapes. Just try to make a lump before you dump the dough in the oil carefully and gently. 

They get fried pretty fast, so once you start making them you should stay put and turn them once in a while to make sure that they get browned all around.

beignets in frying pan
African beignets with mango sauce

When they come out of the fryer, I put a paper towel on the plate to absorb the extra oil. Do not put on a lid or cover them right away when they are hot because that would cause moisture that would make them squishy. 

How do you store African beignets?

Once cooled to room temperature, I put them in an air-tight container. You should eat them in the next 24-36 hours max.

How do you make mango sauce?

I love this mango sauce! You can eat it with fried chicken and fish also. It is a perfect sauce for anything fried in my opinion. This sauce takes 5 minutes to make.

mango chunks in a container
mango sauce with mint

I peel the mango and discard the seed, then cut the flesh in pieces. I add the mint leaves and a little bit of salt to enhance the flavours, and I use a hand blender to puree it. Voila!

mango being pureed with hand mixer
Mango sauce with mint

These beignets are best eaten warm.

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African beignets (puff puff) in a grey bowl with mango sauce to the side

African beignets (puff puff) with mango sauce

★★★★★ 5 from 18 reviews
  • Author: Magali Mutombo
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 25 min
  • Total Time: 35 min
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Dessert, appetizers
  • Method: Frying
  • Cuisine: african
  • Diet: Vegetarian
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Description

African beignets (puff puff) made with self rising flour.


Ingredients

Scale

For beignets

  • 4 cups of self-rising flour
  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 ½  cup of lukewarm water
  • 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract

 

Mango sauce with mint

  • 1 mango 
  • 4 strings of mint
  • A dash of salt

Instructions

For beignets:

  1. In a mixing bowl, put the flour and make a hole in the middle.
  2. Put the sugar in hole. 
  3. Progressively add your water while mixing everything with the spoon to eliminate any lumps of flour.
  4. Mix it well vigorously, until you see air bubbles forming and bursting on your dough. It means that your yeast is activated. This can take a good 5 min.
  5. Turn on your deep fryer and let the temperature get to 375 F or you can use a small pot with your vegetable oil. 
  6. With clean hands or a small spoon or ice cream spoon, get some batter and put in your fryer in batches.
  7. Do not overcrowd the fryer, otherwise the temperature will drop and they will absorb more oil.
  8. Turn them once they are golden brown. This shouldn’t take more than 3 min per batch.
  9. With a slotted spoon, remove your beignets and place them on a dish that has a paper towel at the bottom.
  10. Serve them warm or at room temperature.

For mango sauce:

  1. Remove the skin from the mango. Cut the flesh and put in a bowl. Discard the stem.
  2. Put it in a bowl with the salt and mint leaves.
  3. Mix it with hand blender until smooth.

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

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Related

Filed Under: Appetizers, Desserts, Recipes Tagged With: african beignets, mango sauce, puff puff

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tamara says

    September 16, 2020 at 5:11 pm

    These were absolutely delicious! Much easier to make than I anticipated. That mango sauce can be eaten by the spoon full!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:37 am

      I am glad that you like it!

      Reply
  2. Renia says

    September 16, 2020 at 6:26 pm

    This puff puff recipe can compete with beignets anyday. I love the suggestion of eating them with seed or nut butter.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:36 am

      Those combinations are classics. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Tera says

    September 16, 2020 at 7:32 pm

    What a fun little treat! I love the story to go along with them too.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Manisha says

    September 16, 2020 at 11:15 pm

    I’m obsessed with your mango sauce!! I’m currently on a diet but made the sauce for some fish last night and now I can’t wait to try it with the beignets for a cheat meal 🙂

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:35 am

      That’s right. That mango sauce goes with lots of dishes.

      Reply
  5. Lisa says

    September 17, 2020 at 12:20 am

    These were so delicious and fun to make! Thank you for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:34 am

      you are welcome!

      Reply
  6. Amy says

    September 17, 2020 at 2:13 am

    Awesome recipe! We are definitely going to try this cause it looks amazing. Love that you’ve used self-raising flour instead of active yeast. Definitely cuts out a fair bit of work without it. I don’t mind the taste to active yeast but I do hate the smell!

    Reply
  7. Amanda Marie Boyle says

    September 17, 2020 at 11:04 am

    These are fantastic. I really love the mango sauce!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  8. Kay says

    September 17, 2020 at 4:14 pm

    I have never heard of these before, but now I know I need to make them, that mango and mint sauce sounds scrumptious too!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  9. Robin says

    September 19, 2020 at 8:34 am

    I am so excited to make this recipe because I love doughnuts and because it is an African dish!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:33 am

      yesss!

      Reply
  10. Barry J. says

    September 20, 2020 at 8:43 pm

    My hometown friend always use to make these for me (just without the mango sauce). They always seemed so hard to make. These look amazing and the recipe really breaks it down.

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:33 am

      Using the self rising flour simplifies the recipe. They were probably using yeast which is a different process.

      Reply
  11. Samantha says

    September 20, 2020 at 10:47 pm

    My family is from Ghana and we love making/eating puff puff! I’ll have to try it with the mango sauce! Sounds delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:30 am

      Let me know how they turn out!

      Reply
  12. Chenée Lewis says

    September 21, 2020 at 5:28 am

    These were so easy to make! And the mango sauce was SO perfect with them!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:29 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  13. Carita says

    September 21, 2020 at 4:39 pm

    What a fun treat! My daughter and I loved making these and loved EVEN more devouring these mini sweet treats!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:28 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  14. Britney says

    September 21, 2020 at 6:43 pm

    So I’d never heard of this before but decided to give it a try and it was so delicious! I was shocked as to how fluffy the beignets were and that mango and mint sauce is literally to die for!! This was absolutely amazing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:28 am

      YAY! Thank you so much!

      Reply
  15. Desirée says

    September 21, 2020 at 11:44 pm

    These turned out so well! My whole family enjoyed them!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 22, 2020 at 1:27 am

      I am so glad! 🙂

      Reply
  16. Chef Mireille says

    September 22, 2020 at 2:09 am

    Beignet’s are my favorites. We also make them in the French Caribbean where some of my family is from. But the mango sauce put these over the top. I am glad I bit the bullet and tried a new version.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 26, 2020 at 5:58 pm

      Thank you so much for trying! I am glad you liked it!

      Reply
  17. Capri Lilly says

    September 22, 2020 at 3:02 am

    This was my first time making African beignets and thanks to your recipe it was a success!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 26, 2020 at 5:57 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  18. Jazz says

    September 22, 2020 at 5:14 pm

    I’ve grown up eating puff puff and had never had it with mango sauce. It was delicious! Thanks for this recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 26, 2020 at 5:57 pm

      Definitely not a common combination for sure. But I wanted to bring a change my childhood puff puff. I am glad you like it!

      Reply
  19. Marta says

    September 22, 2020 at 6:58 pm

    I don’t think I’ve ever had puff puffs, but they were so easy and tasty to make and eat. I especially loved the mango sauce with them.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 26, 2020 at 5:56 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  20. Crystal says

    September 22, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    The texture of these beignets was perfect! I love the addition of mint to the mango! Great idea!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 26, 2020 at 5:55 pm

      I am glad you like it! Thanks!

      Reply
  21. Adri Ruff says

    September 23, 2020 at 2:58 am

    These were so easy and delicious ! Thank you for the easy to follow recipe!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      September 26, 2020 at 5:55 pm

      You are welcome!

      Reply
  22. Shafique Nanji says

    February 17, 2021 at 5:00 pm

    I liked the mango sauce recipe. But can you make beignets with cassava flour and not what is fufu.

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      February 24, 2021 at 6:49 pm

      Thank you! I have never made beignets with cassava flour. Since it is a gluten free flour, it might require some tweaking to get it to rise. Fufu is something different and the process is also different. On the other hand, fufu can be made with cassava flour and so many others. I hope I have answered your question:)

      Reply
  23. Geneviève says

    January 10, 2023 at 6:34 pm

    Merci beaucoup pour cette belle recette et de partager avec nous tes souvenirs 😉 J’adore.

    Reply
    • Magali Mutombo says

      January 27, 2023 at 3:21 am

      Merci!

      Reply
  24. Magali Mutombo says

    March 2, 2021 at 7:02 pm

    thank you so much!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 5 Recipes from Diverse Cultures You Should Try ASAP - Operation Amigos says:
    March 2, 2021 at 4:43 am

    […] with strawberry or raspberry dip. Enjoy your very own homemade mitake by following the recipe here, and read more about the origins of mitake […]

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  2. Around the world with Well•Pict – WellPict – Berries says:
    November 22, 2021 at 5:07 pm

    […] African Beignets (mikate in Congo; puff-puff in western Africa) with Raspberry Sauce and Pineapple […]

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