← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 1 kg White yam (puna yam), peeled, cut into 4 cm chunks and rinsed
• 2 red peppers, chopped
• 2 Tomato, chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
• 2 Onion, 1 roughly chopped, 1 finely chopped
• 100 ml red palm oil
• 2 tbsp Ground crayfish
• 150 g smoked mackerel or other smoked fish, flaked, bones removed (optional)
• 1 tsp salt (or a gluten-free stock cube), to taste
• 1 handful Spinach, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Blend the peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet and the roughly chopped onion until fairly smooth.
2. Put the yam in a pot with the finely chopped onion and just enough water to come halfway up. Bring to the boil and cook for 10 min.
3. Pour in the blended pepper sauce, the palm oil and the crayfish, and stir gently. Simmer for 15–20 min, partly covered, until the yam is tender.
4. Mash some of the yam chunks against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon and stir them through: this thickens the porridge. Add the smoked fish and salt and simmer for 5 min more.
5. Stir in the spinach, if using, let it wilt for 1 minute, then serve hot.

Tips

• Use African white (puna) yam, not orange sweet potato: it is starchier and breaks down beautifully. Wear gloves when peeling, as raw yam can itch.
• Contains crayfish (shellfish). For a vegetarian pot, skip the crayfish and fish and use vegetable stock.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

My Diaspora Kitchen 9jafoodie Sisi Jemimah