Vitumbua (Coconut Rice Pancakes) – An addictive healthy coconut and rice vegan donut or pancake topped with vegan caramel sauce. A melt in your mouth experience!

Don’t mention anything coconut to me, because chances are I would like to taste or make it. Every time my son sees anything coconut he screams out for me like it is an emergency (He is so dramatic). And everyone turns to look. It’s embarrassing, sometimes, especially when we are out in public. I look the other way and start whistling. He loathes coconut and I am obsessed with all things coconut.

Just a cursory glance on this site and you would definitely agree with me.

I have all forms of coconut in my pantry, powder, flakes, liquid, shredded unsweetened, sweetened- you bet! And more than twenty coconut recipes to try out on my to-do list, they all have a deadline. I don’t want to scare you away so I am going to space them out.

This right here has been on the list, until now. It is ready to shine.

Guys meet vitumbua (singular: kitumbua). A sweet donut or pancake with a slight exterior crust and a fluffy, melt in your mouth interior. Also known as Masa in West African  Countries like Nigeria and Cameroon.

These East African breakfasts are happily eaten and shared in these Swahili countries Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Uganda, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda and Burundi, Somalia. Even throughout India, Indonesia under different aliases.

Can you believe after I made this hubby grabbed a few, then exclaimed! “You just made my favorite childhood snack”, he was so excited that he finished the whole thing and started reminiscing about his childhood. Oh, this would do that to you!

This is my variant on this sweet snack, the spice combination that I like using is cardamom, nutmeg, and almond extract. It is typically made with cardamom; feel free to adjust spices with one or more according to taste preference. 

Most recipes recommend using short rice. I used jasmine rice with good results.

The best way to enjoy this is with a big cup of Chai Tea Latte HERE. Or if you want to transform it into a dessert serve with this vegan coconut milk caramel

Happy cooking!

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Vitumbua( Coconut Rice Pancakes)

Vitumbua (Coconut Rice Pancakes) - An addictive healthy coconut and rice vegan donut or pancake topped with vegan caramel sauce. A melt in your mouth experience!

5 from 9 votes

Prep: 1 hr

Cook: 15 mins

Total: 1 hr 15 mins

African

Servings 12 -15 balls

Ingredients

Vitumbua

• ▢ 2 cups rice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon yeast
• ▢ 1 cup canned coconut milk slightly warmed
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoon coconut flakes optional
• ▢ ½ -1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¾ – 1-cup sugar brown, white or coconut sugar (I used coconut sugar)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Spice Cardamom, nutmeg
• ▢ ½ teaspoon almond extract

Coconut dipping sauce

• ▢ 1 cans coconut
• ▢ ¾ cup brown sugar
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Soak 2 cups of rice in a large bowl and let it soften, this might take 4 hours or more, preferably overnight.
• Drain the water completely and add in a food processor or blender together with coconut milk, flakes, spices, sugar, salt and yeast. Blend until puree, you might have to do this in batches depending on your blender- make sure you pause in between and check for smoothness.
• Pour in a large bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm area until doubled in size or when you see bubbles forming.
• Heat a vitumbua, or fry pan on medium heat, add about a ½ or more teaspoon of oil, and brush the holes with the oil.
• Make sure pan is warm enough before adding batter about ¾ full. Cook for about 2 -3 minutes on each side, then quickly flip using chopstick. Continue cooking on the other side and repeat this process until all the batter is finished.
• Let it cool slightly and enjoy with chai or caramel dipping sauce.

Coconut Caramel dipping Sauce

• Bring the coconut milk and brown sugar to a boil together in a heavy-bottomed pot or skillet. Reduce heat to medium low; cook and stir frequently until the mixture is thick and the volume has reduced by about half, about 20 minutes or more.

Tips & Notes:

1. Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 168kcal (8%)| Carbohydrates: 26g (9%)| Protein: 3g (6%)| Fat: 5g (8%)| Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)| Sodium: -91mg (-4%)| Potassium: 102mg (3%)| Fiber: 1g (4%)| Vitamin C: 0.6mg (1%)| Calcium: 13mg (1%)| Iron: 0.6mg (3%)

Author: Imma

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: African

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