Pounded Yam
This is a very soft dish that can be found in many Nigerian households and restaurants. It goes well with a variety of soups, including Ogbono, Egusi, veggie, and Afang. To make pounded yam, peel the necessary amount of yam, carefully wash it, and boil it until soft. The boiled yam is then mashed until it becomes a mushy mash in a mortar. The Yoruba people of Western Nigeria are famed for their love of pounded yam, but it is also consumed by the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria.
Ingredients
- 2 cups yam flour, 2 cups Water
Directions
- Peel the skins off the yams and slice them into about ½ inch thickness.
- Rinse and place the yams in a pot and add enough water to the level of the Yam. Rinse about once or twice till you get clear water.
- Cover and cook the yams for about 30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or thereabout until the yams are fork tender.
- Pound or blend into a dough-like consistency until it’s completely smooth with no yam chunks left.
- The amount of water you will need to boil the yam will vary depending on how dry the yam is. Fresh yams in the early season of the harvest will take less water while yams harvested in the later season will require more water.
- This also applies during the pounding, you will need more water for the dry yam and less water for the less dry yams.
- Serve with your favorite soup or stew
