By Abigail Adaramola
Nigeria boasts over 177 million people, with 100s of ethnic groups and over 500 different languages. All these people, groups and languages differ in their culture and their way of life, but the one thing that brings them all together is pounded yam. Pounded yam is similar to mashed potatoes but heavier and made from African yams. It can be eaten with any number of soups, generally vegetable soups like Egusi, or Efo Riro. Pounded yam is one food that is inarguably African. It’s eaten not only in Nigeria but in many countries in the western region of Africa. Nigerians may disagree on a lot of things but the one thing they can agree on is pounded yam. Pounded yam is sure to be found at any large event people are gathered. Whether it’s a happy occasion, like a wedding, or a sad occasion, like a funeral. Where there’s food and people involved, pounded yam is sure to be there. Traditionally, making pounded yam is very labor intensive, it involves pounding the yam with a mortar and a long pestle for long periods of time. There’s a saying that pounded yam cannot be made in secrecy, this is because the noise that occurs when pounding the yam in the mortar is loud and audible, in addition the noise that one makes as they do this hard labor isn’t silent. People serve this food to visitors, and because of the hard work that goes into making this meal, it’s considered a show of respect and high regard when you serve this food to visitors. This food is beloved by many, some people have to eat it every day or they don’t consider themselves to have eaten anything. My father tells the story of such a person. He had a friend, who would eat pounded yam for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. At one time they had to travel to a remote part of the country, and this friend of his would travel several blocks to find a mortar, which he would lug back with him, make his pounded yam, then trek back the way he came to return the mortar. And he made this trip practically every day.
Pounded yam was so important that in the old days, if people say you always eating eba and amala, foods similar to pounded yam, but they never saw you eating pounded yam, they would assume you were lazy by nature, and so their daughters weren’t allowed to marry you. I suppose this because the other foods similar to pounded yam, like eba and amala, aren’t nearly as labor intensive as pounded yam. Either way it’s a big decision to make based on pounded yam. Traditionally between one to four women will pound yam in the same mortar. There was a sense of camaraderie between these women, as they worked hard to make food for their family. The whole family would then come together and eat from the same plate using their hands. After a hard day’s work, with the family separated, doing their different tasks, this is an opportunity to come together and discuss their day. This is precious family time.
When I was younger and still living in Nigeria, we would travel from the city to visit my grandma from my mom’s side in her village. My grandma and I spoke different languages so we couldn’t understand each other but every time we would visit she would always make pounded yam. She was this little old woman yet she was strong enough to do this labor intensive work. If you saw this woman she looks frail, like she can barely lift anything heavier that a fork. But it’s all a façade, because she would start pounding and you would be shocked. I loved to just sit and watch her as she worked. I loved to watch as it went from individual yams into this smooth paste. Sometimes she would let me and my sister give pounding a try, but we always gave up after a few tries because our arms would start to hurt. But after our arms stop hurting we would want to try again and she would let us. Now that I look back it would have been a whole lot faster for her if she didn’t let us pound. We were slow and we weren’t very good but she never failed to let us try whenever we wanted. And after she was done, she never failed to let us try the finished product and give it the official seal of approval. My sister and I would always fight about who would get to try it first, and whose approval was more official. My grandma would just watch us and smile. And we would enjoy the pounded yam with whatever stew she had made, my favorite was Egusi. I’m not really a fan of pounded yam, it all tastes the same to me but whenever my grandma made it I was the first to eat it. I don’t know how she did it or what she put inside it but it always tasted so good, even my mom couldn’t mimic it and I love my mom’s food. My grandma’s pounded yam was always my favorite part of the visit.
Nowadays there’re many different ways to make pounded yam. There are machines that will boil and pound the yam for you. You can even buy the powdered version, where you just have to put water and mix. Even with these new methods there’s nothing quite like making pounded yam with a mortar and pestle, it tastes different, better somehow.
Nowadays there’re many different ways to make pounded yam. There are machines that will boil and pound the yam for you. You can even buy the powdered version, where you just have to put water and mix. Even with these new methods there’s nothing quite like making pounded yam with a mortar and pestle, it tastes different, better somehow.
Recipe for Pounded Yam (Traditional Method)
Ingredients:
African Yam
Knife
Hot water
Mortar and pestle
Directions:
Cut yam into pieces with knife. Then peel skin off yam. After, boil water and place yam pieces into hot water until really soft. Take yam out of hot water and place inside mortar. Now, then pestle and pound until consistency is smooth and there are no lumps to be found. Lastly, enjoy with your favorite stew.
Ingredients:
African Yam
Knife
Hot water
Mortar and pestle
Directions:
Cut yam into pieces with knife. Then peel skin off yam. After, boil water and place yam pieces into hot water until really soft. Take yam out of hot water and place inside mortar. Now, then pestle and pound until consistency is smooth and there are no lumps to be found. Lastly, enjoy with your favorite stew.