Vitumbua (Tanzanian Coconut Rice Pancakes)

Vitumbua (Tanzanian Coconut Rice Pancakes)! These bite-sized coconut rice pancakes known as Vitumbua are a popular street food in some parts of East Africa. They’re made from a fermented batter of ground rice and coconut milk and served warm for breakfast or as a snack with a cup of tea or coffee.

Bring a touch of East Africa
to your kitchen!

Here you will find an easy-to-follow recipe with step-by-step pictures, helpful info plus tips that will help you make ‘Vitumbua’ easy way at home. I hope you try this recipe and it becomes one of your favorites, just as it is one of mine.

You need to start the recipe ahead of time that you plan to serve them. Most of the time there is an idle time where you just have to leave the rice to soak or the batter to ferment and go on with your routine, so, it just requires around 30 minutes of hands–on time.

What are Vitumbua?

Cuisine: African, East African, Tanzanian, Swahili
Singular: kitumbua, Plural: Vitumbua
Pronounced as vee toom booa

Vitumbua is a popular Tanzanian street food and is also popular in some other East African countries. In Swahili, it is called Vitumbua, and Macsharo in Somali. Also known as ‘Hausa Masa‘ or ‘Masa‘ in Nigeria.

Something About ‘Swahili’

The Swahili people are an ethnic and cultural group inhabiting East Africa, primarily residing on the Swahili coast that includes Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Comoros, northern Mozambique, some parts of Malawi, and eastern Congo and they speak the Swahili language. Swahili culture and cuisine have influences from Indian, Arabic, Greek, Roman, Persian, Malay, and Chinese.

How Do You Make Vitumbua?

Vitumbua are made from a fermented batter of rice and coconut milk and are cooked in a special pan known as Vitumbua Pan with many small shallow holes that hold many pancakes at a time.

The batter is traditionally made by soaking the rice for several hours and then grinding it to a smooth paste. However, if you want to avoid the hassle of soaking and grinding rice, you can also make it with rice flour. The ground rice paste or rice flour is combined with coconut milk, yeast, salt, sugar, and cardamom powder to make the batter.

Similar Pancake Recipes

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you’ll need. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

• Rice – Use either white raw rice or rice flour. The raw rice used for making Vitumbua is typically a short-grain variety. However, I used Thai white rice (long-grain rice) with good results.
• Coconut Milk – Use fresh or canned coconut milk, or coconut powder dissolving in warm water.
• Grated Coconut – Use freshly grated coconut or desiccated coconut.
• Sugar – Adjust to your taste.
• Salt – Adjust to your taste.
• Yeast – Use either instant yeast or active dry yeast.
• Ground cardamom – Used for flavoring the batter.
• Baking Soda – Helps to get fluffier Vitumbuas with a bubbly surface.
• Cooking oil

You’ll Need A Special Pan

Traditionally, Vitumbua are made in a special pan known as Vitumbua Pan with many small shallow holes that hold many pancakes at a time.

Vitumbua Pan is similar to the Danish Aebleskiver pan, Indian Paniyaram pan, or Japanese Takoyaki Pan. You can get these pans on Amazon or eBay.

If you don’t have a special pan, you can use a regular non-stick frying pan and cook it in small dollops, similar to making mini pancakes.

More Pancake Recipes to try

Buying a pan with hemispherical indentations is a good investment if you like to try new pancakes for a change and FUN.

How to Make the Batter with Raw Rice

• Step 1 (Soak the rice): Soak the rice for about 6 hours or overnight, which helps soften the grains and grind consequently to create a smooth batter.
• Step 2 (Grind the soaked rice): Grind it to a smooth paste with adequate coconut milk. You will still find some tiny grains of rice in your ground rice paste but it’s unavoidable.
• Step 3 (Make the batter): The rice paste is then combined with yeast, salt, sugar, and ground cardamom to make the batter.
• Step 4 (Fermentation): Leave the batter until it becomes bubbly and frothy for about 6 hours or overnight.
• Step 5 (Adjust the consistency): After fermentation, adjust the consistency of the batter adding warm coconut milk/water as needed.
• Step 6 (Add a pinch of baking soda): Add a pinch of baking soda dissolved in a little water to achieve a bubbly surface enhancing the texture of pancakes.

How to Make the Batter with Rice Flour

• Step 1 (Make the batter): In a large bowl, mix rice flour, plain flour, salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, yeast, and fine coconut. Add coconut milk a little at a time to make a smooth batter without any lumps.
• Step 2 (Fermentation): Cover and keep in a warm place for 2 to 4 hours until you see bubbles on the top and frothy.
• Step 3 (Adjust the consistency): Stir the batter gently. Add the rest of the sugar and ground cardamom, and mix well. Season with salt as needed. The batter should be pourable, add some warm water/coconut milk and adjust the consistency as needed.
• Step 4 (Add a pinch of baking soda): Add a pinch of baking soda dissolved in a little water to achieve a bubbly surface enhancing the texture of pancakes.

Useful Tips

When making Vitumbua, it’s essential to keep some crucial tips and tricks in mind to ensure you achieve the desired taste and texture. I have given here the important tips to get them right even if you make them for the first time.

Preparing the Batter

• Make sure you add the water a little at s time while grinding until you get a creamy consistency of batter.
• Use a large bowl if you choose to ferment the batter for longer hours, as the batter will rise and may spill over if the bowl is too small.
• For a more tangy flavor, allow the batter to ferment for up to 8 hours.
• The time the batter takes to ferment will vary depending on many factors, like the temperature of the place, the freshness of yeast, etc.)
• The consistency of the batter is important. It should be thick enough to hold its shape when spooned into the molds or the pan but not watery. So make sure to adjust the batter after fermentation.
• If the batter is too runny, add some rice flour or plain flour to thicken it. If it’s too thick, add a small amount of warm water to thin it out.

Cooking

• Make sure to oil the molds or frying pan adequately before cooking as it prevents the Vitumbua from sticking to the pan and ensures they turn golden brown.
• Fill the molds with the batter 3/4 way up giving it room to rise. Otherwise, it will spill over while cooking.
• To avoid burning, cook them over medium heat as it helps the Vitumbua to cook evenly without getting too brown on the outside while fully cooking on the inside. If you cook them on high heat, they will get brown outside too soon but with an undercooked inside.

Vitumbua – Serving Suggestions

Vitumbua is a breakfast dish that you usually have with a hot cup of tea while still warm straight from the pan. You can also serve them with coconut milk caramel sauce, the traditional way, or turn them into a fancy dessert by serving them with melted chocolate, drizzled with honey, maple syrup, fruit syrup, jam, or even cheese.

How to Use Yeast?

There are mainly two types of dried yeast available in the market, instant yeast and active dry yeast. The two yeasts can be used interchangeably in recipes. If you use instant yeast, you can just mix it in with flour without activating it. However, make sure to use fresh yeast. You need to activate your active dry yeast dissolving it in warm water/milk before using.

How to Activate the Yeast?

In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon sugar and 50ml warm milk. Add the yeast and stir lightly. Cover with a towel and leave in a warm place until it begins to froth for about 10 minutes.

Tips for Using Yeast

• If your yeast is stored in the refrigerator or freezer, make sure to allow the yeast to come to room temperature before using.
• Use warm water/milk, hot water/milk kills the yeast while cold water will not activate the yeast.
• Make sure to decrease the amount of liquid you used to dissolve the yeast and then adjust the total amount of liquid.

More Yeasted-Batter Pancake Recipes

Pancakes are one of the oldest, simplest, ubiquitous, and remarkably versatile foods, so every culture has ‘pancakes’ that they are proud of. “Around the World in Pancakes & Buddies” is one of the fantastic food journeys I am bound on. Would you like to join me?

Vitumbua With Raw Rice
(Step-by-Step Recipe)

(Check out the printable recipe at the end of the post)

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Resting Time: 4 to 8 hours
Servings: 25 (depending on the pan use)

Equipment

A powerful grinder
A special pan with hemispherical indentations

Ingredients

250 g raw rice (see the notes)
2 tablespoons grated coconut or desiccated coconut, fine
300 ml thick coconut milk, adjust as needed
1 teaspoon yeast
100g sugar
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Oil for cooking

For Dipping Sauce 
100ml coconut milk, or as needed
50g brown sugar, or to taste

NOTES

• Use either short-grain rice like arborio or long-grain rice like Thai white rice
• Soak for 10 minutes in some water if you use desiccated coconut
• use either instant or active dry yeast. You can use instant yeast without activating it in water.
• If you do not have a special pan, use a regular pan

Instructions

Wash the rice a couple of times until the water runs clear. Soak for at least 6 hours or overnight.

Drain the soaked rice and transfer it to a blender.

Grind the soaked rice with grated coconut or soaked desiccated coconut adding coconut milk as needed to a smooth paste.

In a small bowl, mix the active dry yeast, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 50ml of warm water. Set aside for about 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy.

Pour the ground rice batter into a large bowl and add the frothy yeast mixture, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a little salt. Stir well to combine.

Cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size and bubbly for about 4 to 6 hours. You can also leave it to ferment overnight ( 8 hours) if you want it more tangy.

Add the rest of the sugar, and ground cardamom to the fermented batter and stir until well combined. Season with salt. Adjust the consistency of the batter adding more coconut milk as needed.

Add the baking powder dissolved in a little water, and stir until well combined. Rest for about 10 minutes.

Heat the pan over medium. Drop some oil in each hole, and brush the holes with oil generously. (I used an electric Takoyaki griddle with many molds.)

Pour a spoonful of batter (3/4 full) into each hole.

Cook for 2-3 minutes until the pancakes are set and the bottom is golden brown. Adjust the heat as you cook to prevent the burning of pancakes. There should be tiny bubbles forming all over the surface of the pancake. 

Flip them using chopsticks or a skewer and cook the other side too. You will need a little bit of practice to do this, but gets easier with practice. Cook the other side and repeat until all the batter is finished.

Make Dipping Sauce

Heat coconut milk and brown sugar in a pot over low medium. Stir frequently until you have a thick sauce for about 10 minutes or more.

Serve & Enjoy

Serve warm with coconut dipping sauce and a hot cup of tea. You can also go sweet with honey, maple, or chocolate sauce.

Vitumbua (Printable Recipe)

Thank you for being here, I appreciate it!
I love hearing from you so feel free to leave a comment on the post
If you make any of my recipes, I’d love to see pics of your creations
 #joyofeatingtheworld or @joyofeatingtheworld

More Pancake Recipes to Try

Pancakes are one of the oldest, simplest, ubiquitous, and remarkably versatile foods, so every culture has ‘pancakes’ that they are proud of. “Around the World in Pancakes & Buddies” is one of the fantastic food journeys I am bound on. Would you like to join me?