How to Make Pounded Yam with Mortar
Are you tired of eating one kind of swallow? How to make pounded yam will be something new you will love to try, if you are tired of one specific kind of swallow.
The process of making pounded yam is very easy but a bit energy-consuming when pounding it.
Pounded yam is a traditional food in some West African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon.
Pounded yam is not eaten as a whole meal but as a side dish with soups, stews, and sauces. It can be any soup like Oha soup, egusi soup, or any other soup of your choice.
To make the best-pounded yam it has to be smooth dough-like and dense in texture and it is often eaten by cutting it into small portions, rolling it into a ball, and dipping it into the soup or sauce.
How to Make Pounded Yam
Traditionally pounded yam is made by pounding the yam with the use of a mortar and pestle until it is smooth with a unique stretchy quality.
But nowadays technology is at its peak, trying to save us from a stressful life even in our kitchen. Now you can make use of an electric yam pounder to pound your yam which makes it easy and fast.
You must know that pounded yam is different from mashed or pureed yam because the pounding makes the difference.
Ingredients for Pounded Yam
I am going to show you the traditional way how to make pounded yams with the use of mortar and pestle. The equipment needed is already in your kitchen which is:
1. Mortar
2. Pestle
3. Cooking Pot
4. Kitchen Knife
The ingredients needed are:
- Yam
- Water
Instructions to Make Pounded Yam
The first you will need to do is to wash your equipment and utensils. Clean your cooking area before you start cooking.
Any yam can be used, but I recommend an old yam tuber that has stayed for over 4 months to give you the pounded yam consistency. Because newly harvested yams do not give the consistency you will need.
1. Cut your yam into any size of your choice, peel off the back, wash it, and cook with water for 15-20 minutes.
2. After 20 minutes, check on the yam if it is soft, then go ahead to pound it.
3. With your fork pick each yam into your mortar to the desired quantity that you can pound and pound with a pestle.
4. If the yam is too hard when pounding, add water (from the cooked yam) and pound until smooth and stretchy.
5. Scoop it out from the mortar and serve with any Nigerian soup of your choice.
Pounded yam is not just a food item but also holds a cultural significance part of West African cuisines.
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