~223 cal · 3g protein · 51g carbs · 0g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Round golden rice-flour fritters
🇿🇲 Lusaka
Vitumbuwa are Zambian fried cakes, made from a fermented rice-flour (and sometimes banana) batter dropped into hot oil until golden, round, and puffed. Crisp outside and soft inside, they are a popular breakfast and teatime treat, sold warm at markets and made at home for a weekend morning.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 6 —
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2 cups rice flour
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1 mashed ripe banana (optional)
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1/3 cup sugar
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1 tsp yeast
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as needed warm water
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as needed oil for frying
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a pinch a pinch of salt
Instructions
1
Whisk the rice flour, sugar, yeast, salt, banana, and warm water into a thick batter.
2
Let it ferment until bubbly, 1–2 hours.
3
Heat oil for deep-frying.
4
Drop rounded spoonfuls in and fry until golden and puffed.
5
Drain and serve warm with tea.
Lusaka tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Lusaka. Where every plate is anchored by a mound of nshima.
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Zambia. Copperbelt country built around a bowl of nshima.
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Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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