Vitumbua
Swahili coconut and cardamom rice pancakes
Small, round Swahili rice pancakes made from a yeasted batter of rice flour, coconut milk, grated coconut, sugar and cardamom. They're crisp and golden outside, soft and spongy inside. Serve hot with tea.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the batter
For frying
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 6 ½ oz rice flour, 3 tbsp plain flour and 4 tbsp fresh coconut in a bowl.
Step 2: Add 1 ½ cups coconut milk (start with 250 ml), 4 tbsp milk, 1 tsp dried yeast, 2 ⅛ oz sugar and 1 tsp cardamom.
Step 3: Blend with a hand blender until it becomes a smooth batter that pours thickly. Add more coconut milk if needed.
Step 4: Leave the batter to stand for 1 hour.
60 minStep 5: Heat a non-stick pan. Pour in ½ cup of batter and quickly spread it into a 10 cm round.
Step 6: Drizzle 1 teaspoon of 4 tbsp oil for shallow frying around it and shallow fry for about 3 minutes on each side.
6 minStep 7: Poke the centre with a toothpick to check it's cooked through, and cook until golden brown.
Step 8: Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hot vitumbua with tea.
24 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does vitumbua take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 75 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of plain flour?
- Self-raising flour, same amount (then leave out the baking powder).
- What can I use instead of fresh coconut?
- Desiccated coconut soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, about three quarters of the weight.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Coastal Mombasa mix
A Mombasa street-food bowl: chickpeas and potato simmered in coconut milk with raw mango and chilli, ladled into small bowls and topped with crisp lentil fritters, crunchy chevdo and red, green and tamarind chutneys. Make the fritters and chevdo ahead and assemble at the table. It's sweet, sour, hot and crunchy all at once.
Okonomiyaki
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き, 'grilled as you like it') is the pride of Osaka, where it's cooked on hot iron griddles in lively restaurants. Finely shredded cabbage is folded into a light batter with egg and spring onion, then fried into a thick, soft pancake with a crisp outside. It's painted with a fruity brown sauce and zigzagged with mayonnaise. Bonito flakes are usual on top; this vegetarian version uses seaweed flakes and pickled ginger instead. Chef's tip: don't press the pancake down with your spatula while it cooks. Osaka cooks leave it alone so the cabbage steams inside and stays light and fluffy; pressing squeezes out the air.
Masala khakhra
Khakhra are thin chapaties roasted slowly on a griddle until they turn crisp, like a cracker. This masala version adds gram flour, fresh fenugreek, turmeric and chilli to the wheat dough. They are a light Gujarati breakfast or tea-time snack, and lovely with pickle, chutney or a smear of butter. You can also make them in a roti maker.
