Nigerian Yam Recipes

How to prepare Nigerian Yam & Vegetable

 

As the name states, this recipe is a basic yam and vegetable mix. The good thing is that this recipe lets you try a wide range of leafy vegetables which can go with the yam staple: green Amaranth, fluted pumpkin, water leaves etc.

Ingredients

• Yam – 1kg
• Leafy Vegetable - Fluted pumpkin/Green Amaranth/Water Leaves
• Red palm Oil – to color
• Okra – 4 fingers (optional)
• Onions – 2 medium bulbs
• Chilli Pepper & Salt – to taste
• Seasoning – 2 cubes of Maggi / Knorr

Before you cook Yam & Vegetable

Peel and cut the yam tuber into 2 inch cubes. Wash the yam cubes and place in a sizeable pot.
Wash and cut the leafy vegetables, cut the onions and okra into tiny pieces. Grind / Blend the chilli pepper. Put all these in a separate pot and set aside. The okra only helps the vegetables stick together so it is optional.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour enough water to cover the yam cubes and cook till the cubes are soft.
2. Now, pour out the water from the pot, leaving the yam cubes in the pot. Cover the pot to retain the heat.
3. Add a little water (about 1 cooking spoon) to the pot containing the vegetables. Cook till the vegetable is softened by the heat. Be careful not to overcook the vegetable.
4. Pour the cooked vegetables and other ingredients into the pot containing the yam cubes. Add the palm oil and salt to taste.
5. Stir with a wooden spoon till all the ingredients have mixed well.
6. The yam and vegetable is ready to be served.

Serve with Fried Plantain

How to cook Nigerian Yam Porridge

   

The Yam Porridge can also be referred to as yam soup. It is mainly yam cooked with ingredients and the resulting dish contains some soupy liquid. It is usually not cooked with added vegetables but feel free to add a little if you so wish.

Ingredients

• Yam – 500g
• Red palm Oil – to color
• Ground Crayfish – 2 tablespoons
• Onions – 1 medium bulb
• Chilli Pepper & Salt – to taste
• Seasoning – 1 cube of Maggi / Knorr

Before you cook Yam Porridge

Peel and cut the yam tuber into 2 inch cubes. Wash the yam cubes and place in a sizeable pot.
Wash and cut the onions into tiny pieces. Grind / Blend the chilli pepper. Set these aside.

Cooking Directions

1. Pour enough water to cover the yam cubes and start cooking at high heat.
2. Note when the water starts to boil and leave to continue boiling for 10 more minutes.
3. Add the cut onions, ground crayfish, pepper and seasoning.
4. Cover the pot and continue cooking till the yam is done.
5. Add the red palm oil and salt to taste and continue cooking till all the oil has been absorbed into the porridge. You can reduce the heat to medium at this stage depending on the consistency of the porridge.
6. The yam porridge is ready to be served.

Yam porridge is usually eaten alone but you can serve with Fried Plantain

How to cook Nigerian Boiled Yam

   

Boiled Yam is an easy and fast yam recipe. If you can boil egg, then preparing this recipe is no big deal. It is prepared without any added ingredients thereby leaving you with a wide range of sauces and stews to eat it with.
Boiled yam can be eaten with Tomato Stew, Vegetable Sauce, Pepper Sauce, fried egg or egg omelette.

Ingredients

• White Yam – As much as you can eat.
• Salt to taste (Optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Cut the yam tuber into 1 inch slices.
2. Peel and cut the slices into half moons. You can leave it circular if you want. This does not make a difference to the recipe at all.
3. Wash the slices, place in a pot and pour water to cover the contents.
4. Boil till the yam is soft. This is when you can easily drive a fork into the slices without resistance.
5. Add salt and leave to cook for about 2 minutes. This is so that the salt will seep into the yam slices.
6. Turn off the heat and drain the water.

Serve with Tomato Stew, Vegetable Sauce, Pepper Sauce, fried egg or egg omelette.

How to prepare Nigerian Fried Yam

   

Fried yam recipe is a deep-fried yam recipe that can be eaten with a wide range of Nigerian stews and sauces. It is fried in such a way that the outside of the chips is crunchy while the inside is moist. It is mostly used as a breakfast meal with fried egg, egg omelette, Tomato Stew, Vegetable Sauce or oat meal.

Ingredients

• White Yam – As much as you can eat.
• Vegetable Oil
• Salt to taste

Frying Directions

1. Peel and cut the yam tuber into 1 inch cylindrical discs. Make several cuts across the discs to get large chips. Wash the yam chips and place in a bowl.
2. Add a little salt and toss the contents to distribute the salt.
3. If you are using a deep fryer, pour enough vegetable oil into the fryer as per the instructions manual and preheat the oil to 170°C. You can also use a pot to fry the yam chips. It is preferable to use a pot rather than a frying pan for this fried yam recipe because pots provide more depth for the frying process.
4. When the oil is heated, add a few yam chips, leaving enough room for flipping the chips.
5. Stir the chips till they have turned golden.
6. Remove the chips and place in paper towels to absorb the oil.
7. Fry the rest of the chips following steps 4 through 6.

Serve with fried egg, egg omelette, Tomato Stew, Vegetable Sauce or oatmeal.