Pounded yam is one of the many yam recipes in Nigeria. it is very delicious and also very popular. I like it best when it is served with egusi soup.
Most folks outside the shores of Nigeria are yet to completely grasp the idea behind pounding yam.
On this page, I want to tell you everything you will need to know about this recipe as well as how to prepare pounded yam.
There are many Nigerians that can’t do without pounded yam certainly because it is an integral part of the foods eaten in Nigeria.
If you are new to Nigerian foods I am going to help you understand what is pounded yam with a very simple definition down the page.
Other Yam Recipes From Nigeria
Over the past few days, I have focused more on different Nigerian yam recipes, I started by suggesting the different ways to turn a tuber of yam into a delicious meal.
I started with porridge yam and then delved into other recipes like pepper soup yam, How To Make Tomato Sauce
You can check for All Yam Recipe Here
Pounded yam in a simple definition is simply boiled white yam that has undergone the process of pounding.
There are other simple ways to achieve this recipe, people have been able to synthesis the process and taken away the “pounding”.
They have been able to produce yam flour that takes about ten minutes of stirring overheat to produce pounded yam.
That is just one way to prepare this food even though most people stick with the old traditional way of pounding boiled yam.
In this case, however, you will be very sure that you are dealing with 100% yam.
Besides, it is a lot cheaper if you decide to pound the yam yourself instead of buying packed yam flour.
What You Need For Pounded Yam
Tubers of yam
Mortar
Pestle
Cooking pot
Water
A kitchen Knife
Preparation
If you have all the above-listed items already then we are ready for the preparation of pounded yam.
Step 1
Go ahead and peel off the brown outer layer of the yam, slice and wash the white part with lots of clean water.
Transfer into a cooking pot and start cooking with just water. Be sure that the sliced yams are almost completely submerged in water.
Step 2
Cook for ten to fifteen minutes then check to see if the yams are soft enough for pounding, you can check with a kitchen fork by piercing. Once the yams are soft enough for pounding you are ready for the pounding part. Be sure that the water is not completely dried because you will need it while pounding the yam.
Sometimes the yam gets very strong during pounding that you will need to add a little water while pounding, you can use ordinary water but the water left after cooking the yam is most suitable.
How To Pound Yam
Step 3
Pick with a fork and transfer into a mortar then go ahead and pound with a pestle, pound until the yam is seedless and can easily be molded, you can add water and pound until you have a smooth soft pounded yam.
You need to know that the yam used for the preparation of pounded yam must have stayed for at least three months on the surface, we don’t use newly harvested yams for the preparation of pounded.
Step 4
Pounded yam in Nigeria is not served as a course meal but paired with a plate of Nigerian soups, it goes best with egusi or bitter leaf soup.
Pounded yam is a type of swallow in Nigeria. Other swallows include eba, fuff, and tuwo shinkafa.
I am yet to figure out a way to preserve this food over twenty-four hours. So just pound only what you can consume within 12 hours
Pounded yam | How to Pound yam the Local way.
Equipment
- Mortar
- Pestle
- Cooking pot
- Water
- A kitchen Knife
Ingredients
- 2 KG Yam
- Water
Instructions
- Peel off the back of the yams, slice to any size and start cooking with just 4 cups of water.
- It should be soft after cooking for 15-20 minutes.
- Pound using a mortar and pestle.
- If the yam are too hard to pound add a little water - the water from the cooked yam.
- Note: Most newly harvested yams do not have the pounded yam consistency.
- You want to use tubers that have stayed over 3 months.
- Serve Pounded yam with a plate of delicious Nigerian soup.
Compare Other Delicious Yam Recipes With Pounded Yam
Learn how to make eba, They are closely related.
Return to All Nigerian Foods
Please drop a comment below, thanks
24 Comments
Must the yam be strong or
fluff 😄😄😄😄😄
My first time at trying pounded yam was on Saturday the 2nd of October ,2021. I had it with vegetables and chicken hmmmm at first I thought I wouldn’t swallow but I took a little bite and dip it in the vegetables which contains catfish and damnnn this food was good I couldn’t even finish eating because halfway I was full this can be used as a complete meal. Thanks to my Nigerian friends
Pls ma do I need to cut off the head of d yam ( d soft part) before boiling ?itried preparing it but appears to b very soft wat could b d cause?
Please ma can I use small mortar (size 3) to pound yam ? Cause I don’t have the big size
Tanks MA, well this is my first time to pound yam ND I really wanna give it a try, will give u feetback
Thanks Chi. God bless you.
Wow
Wow this is good
O Thank You A Lot For A Quit Felicitous Information About How To Prepare pounded yam, One Of My Best Food I Can Say You Have Done Much
Maybe ten
Pls how many tuber of yam can feed twelve people
Thanks Ma its my first time of pounding yam today 30th of May,2016. its came out superb am grateful because my hubby really enjoyed it
Thanks for the info, you have really improved my cooking since I started following your site and emails, God bless you. thanks
OMG! I love to eat this and egusi soup, my uncle made this egusi soup with catfish and also pounded yam, menn, it was beyond delicious. I ate twice. lol
You guys are welcomed to the Nigerian kitchen. Pounded yam is one of such foods that are eaten by almost every Nigerian. You can combine with anyone of the many soups of Nigeria, I like it best egusi soup; thanks for your contributions. You can learn to make other delicious Nigerian foods. Feel free to check around
Thank you Chidi for your contribution to humanity, I have learned to make lots of the recipes of Nigeria by following your site. Your emails are very informational. I just purchased the 50 Delicious Nigerian Recipe (eGuide), before this time I purchased a cookbook from another lady that was so boring to read! Your eGuide is truely the best in the world and I would advise everyone to get it. Thanks for the tips and tricks, the pounded yam and all, it has been a wonderful year for me and my family, thanks. Mia from Ghana
The best pounded yam I have eaten was served with egusi soup. The egusi soup was very delicious because it was made with fresh fish (catfish) and washed utazi leave… It was super delicious. Thanks for teaching me all of this wonderful recipes. Keep the work going
Can I use yam flour instead of pounding yam, I hear there are easy ways of doing this without going through the process of pounding.
Wow! This appears to be the easiest of all the recipes on this site, I can boil and pound yam… After that we can than talk about the soup. I have a pair of mortar and pestle that has been stashed away in my cupboard for ages, it is time to put them to work
Thanks for the explicit tutor on pounded yam. Please are there any that can pound yam for one.