Vitumbua
Coconut cardamom rice pancakes
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
- 6 ½ oz rice flour1½ cups
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 4 tbsp fresh coconutgrated
For the batter
- 1 ½ cups coconut milkstart with 250 ml and add more until pourable
- 4 tbsp milk (optional)
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 2 ⅛ oz sugar
- 1 tsp cardamomcoarsely ground
For frying
- 4 tbsp oil for shallow fryingabout
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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.
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