Are you the type that is alwjays having busy schedules? Then yam porridge should be listed in your menu, because you dont have to go about stressing your brain on what to fix for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Yam is a tasty dish that can be prepared in many ways. Whether fried as sweet potato chips, pounded as fufu, roasted, boiled as plantain, mashed as thickener or cooked into porridge, yam will always serve its good purpose. It is super tasty and very appealing to the tongue. You can either prepare yam with purely palm oil, with the combination of palm oil and tomatoes or with just tomatoes and red bell peppers ( tatase). Yam is well enjoyed when it is well soften and creamy and you can prepare this within 45 minutes with just few ingredients.
Yam and sweet potatoes are two different types of tubers even though some people confused it as being the same. In case you dont eat yam just know that you are missing out on the nutrients in yam.
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Nutritional health benefits of Yam
- Provides energy: Yam is a very good source of Carbohydrate which provides the necessary energy needed for you to do your daily task. In fact, Yam is recommended for students because once they have eaten it In the morning before going to school, it helps them stay all through the day without a feeling of hunger.
- Vitamin C: helps to fight common infection such as colds and flu and also aid in the healing of wounds.
- The Vitamin A content– helps in the maintenance of healthy mucous membranes, providing good vision and healthy skin and also in the development of strong bone
- Additional Vitamins such as: Vitamin B1 (thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, copper and niacin) -which produces healthy blood cells.
- Yam which is highly fibrous, aids in reducing cholesterol and constipation.
- Anti-oxidant contained in yam helps in increasing the memory capacity of human brain.
- It has Vitamin B6 that helps to prevent the effects homocysteine which is associated with heart attacks and stroke.
Many people are familiar with yam porridge/pottage, especially the type we make over here in Nigerian’s restaurants and in many homes. However, there are two ways of preparing yam porridge one of which I knew from childhood which is very simple and straightforward and I will show you the procedure before I continue.
First method: simple method of cooking Yam Porridge
- Peel your yam, wash it and sliced to desired size and then boil it
- Add pepper, salt, crayfish, onions, seasoning cubes, fish and palm oil to the content in the pot
- Lastly, add vegetables and allow it to cook and become soft. It is then ready. Since from my secondary school days, I was privileged to learn this method from a very close neighbour named Hope.
Although I have been eating sweet yam porridge, this particular one I ate from her was something else; it was super delicious and it tasted different, even though It was made with the same ingredients we normally use for making the typical yam porridge and I decided to learn from her which am so proud of and will want you to learn it from me too.
Ingredients for the preparation of sweet yam porridge
- 1medium size yam tuber
- 1 cup crayfish
- 1 cup of palm oil
- 4 red peppers
- 3 seasoning cubes
- 1 ball onion
- Spinach (vegetables)
- Iced/smoked fish
Second method: procedure for making a tasty yam porridge/pottage
- Cut yam into circular shapes, peel and dice into medium sizes.
Picture of a whole yam, diced and peeled
2. Rinse the pieces into medium pot, add water to the pot to slightly cover the yam pieces. Add salt to taste. Place the pot on heat to cook for about 25 minutes, depending on the texture of the yam.
Yam cut into cubes
3. While yam is on heat, blend crayfish with pepper and dress the fish, vegetables (I used spring onions instead of ugwu or green). You can season the fish and steam if it is iced fish, but if it is smoked fish just de-borne it and keep aside.
chopped vegetables
4. Use a fork to check the yam to know whether it is very soft or not. If is soft, bring it down from heat and drain the water out and cover the pot to prevent the yam from getting cold.
A pot containing pieces of boiled yam
5. Place another empty pot or pan on heat and add to it a cup of palm oil (tin milk size). Allow the oil to heat up for about 2 minutes. Fry the onions, crayfish, pepper and dressed smoked fish together till they are soft.
onions,vegatables,crayfish on a frying process
6. Add the chopped vegetables, seasoning cubes and a little salt, stir and fry for 3 minutes. Add a little water if the content is too dry.
porridge yam well stirred with vegetables and palm oil
7. Finally add the boiled yam porridge/pottage to the content and stir thoroughly with a wooden turner. Add the iced fish; cover the pot and leave on heat to simmer on a low heat.
Yam porridge being served in a plate
8. Put off heat and serve hot.
Im sure you have enjoyed this sweet pottage, what is your own view about yam porridge/pottage? Please share with us below.