Servings : Makes 8-10 pancakes
Vibibi are sweet, soft and delicious pancakes made from a rice and coconut batter. They are famous in the E/African communities and are especially enjoyable during Ramadhan. The Swahili word ‘vibibi’ translates to ‘little ladies’. Am not entirely sure why they are called this but I believe it could be a testament to their sweetness!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups rice
- 1 cup heavy coconut milk
- 1/2 cup light coconut milk
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp. instant yeast
- 1 level tbsp. plain/all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder
- ghee or oil for cooking the pancakes
Instructions
Rinse the rice, then soak it overnight in water. Drain and give it a final rinse and put the rice on a strainer to drain away as much excess water as possible.
Put the rice in a blender jug, add the sugar and half of the heavy coconut milk. Blend until all the rice is finely ground. This may take a while, so keep blending in one minute bursts and gradually add in the rest of the heavy coconut milk, making sure to scrape the sides of the blender down to ensure everything is well mixed. Then add the light coconut milk, yeast, egg, flour and cardamom powder. Blend again until everything is properly combined.
Pour this batter into a bowl and cover. Place it in a warm place for about an hour or until the batter gets frothy and increases in volume. Give it a mix and start preparing the pancakes.
Warm a small non stick frying pan and then add a small drizzle of oil or ghee. Ladle some batter onto a pan (about one serving spoon), turn the heat down and cover the pan. When the top of the pancake begins to dry up and starts forming small holes, drizzle a small touch of oil on the pancake and then gently flip it to cook the other side. It should turn a nice golden brown colour on both sides.
Remove on to a plate, then repeat the process and keep going until all the pancakes are done.
Serve with tea for a luxurious breakfast or as a sweet starter before a meal.
Enjoy! 🙂
Wow thanks a lot
Tc
Wow thanks a lot
Tc
Salam. Please how can I make
Salam. Please how can I make the coconut milk?
W/Salaam, squeeze it out of
W/Salaam, squeeze it out of freshly grated coconut or buy it.
Assalamualaikum.
Assalamualaikum.
Can you please explain how thick or thin the batter should be.. and when making double.. should i also double the egg quantity?
W/Salaam. Batter should be of
W/Salaam. Batter should be of medium consistency, if you double the recipe double ALL the ingredients.
Can v use Maggi Coconut milk
Can v use Maggi Coconut milk powder to make coconut milk ?
What should be the proportion of powder to water for heavy coconut milk ?
I actually have never tried
I actually have never tried using powdered coconut milk so am not sure how the results would turn out.
Maggi is the best coconut milk powder, and it gives tasty end results just like fresh coconut milk.
Aslm alykm appi. Is this the
Aslm alykm appi. Is this the same as mkate Wa chila?
I had something called mkate Wa chila last Ramadhan at an iftar get together but it had condensed milk. Is this the same with condensed milk poured over? Or that’s as whole different recipe
W/Salaam, no I think that is
W/Salaam, no I think that is a different recipe.
The recipe is almost similar except without the flour and egg and while cooking you don’t turn the chilla over. Just remove from pan once the bottom has browned and the top is covered with holes and has become firm. Then drizzle with condensed milk if you want
A.A, Kindly do get back to me, I am in a place where i cannot be able to get coconut milk, Can i substitute it with Normal Milk
You really do need coconut milk for these ones to turn out authentic otherwise they will not taste like vibibi rather they will be just regular rice pancakes. 🙁
Fauzia how would I make this using canned coconut milk. Do I use one measure at regular can consistency and then dilute the remainder with milk?