Nigeria · Nigeria

Pounded Yam (Iyan) with Egusi Sauce

Name: Pounded Yam (Iyan) with Egusi Sauce
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Nigeria
Ingredients: true yam (or white yam), peeled and cubed 1200 g; water 1500 ml; fine salt 6 g; red palm oil 30 ml; ripe tomatoes, chopped 300 g; red onion, chopped 100 g; scotch bonnet pepper 6 g; spinach 150 g; vegetable stock 400 ml

Smooth, stretchy boiled yam pounded into a soft dough, served alongside a savory stew.

80 minutes · 4 servings · Moderate

Iyan is the staple that makes a Nigerian soup a meal, boiled white yam pounded in a mortar with a pestle until the grain disappears entirely and the dough stretches as one smooth mass. It has to be worked while still hot, since cooled yams will not come together. Pounding is done in turns by a group, which is why the dish is as much a gathering as a recipe.

Ingredients

true yam (or white yam), peeled and cubed1200 g
water1500 ml
fine salt6 g
red palm oil30 ml
ripe tomatoes, chopped300 g
red onion, chopped100 g
scotch bonnet pepper6 g
spinach150 g
vegetable stock400 ml

Directions

1
Boil yam in salted water 25 minutes until very tender.
yam is fork-tender
2
Drain and pound in a mortar until smooth and elastic; keep warm.
3
Sauté onion in palm oil 4 minutes; add tomatoes and pepper and cook 10 minutes until thick.
sauce is glossy and oil surfaces
4
Pour in stock, simmer 5 minutes; add spinach and wilt.
5
Serve pounded yam in a mound alongside sauce.

Source: WorldBite Editorial · WorldBite Proprietary Editorial Content