It common in many Yemeni dishes and it includes aniseeds, fennel seeds, ginger and cardamom. Melons with Wings (Melon ba al Canat), HoneyCake (Bint al Sahn), and my own recipe for Middle Eastern Salad
Most of the East African Coast cuisine has been influenced by Indian, Yemeni and Omani culture so perhaps vitumbua too may have been brought here by one of the settlers
The Yemeni people enjoy ful medames, the breakfast bean dip we sampled for Egypt [recipe], kebab, lentil soups, and lahooh, the leavened “pancake” like bread we enjoyed for Djibouti [recipe]