Yam and Plantain Pottage with Ugba

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I want to call this a fusion type of dish but I would rather just call it yam pottage with Ugba.

There are a lot of ways to cook this dish and of all the versions this one seems to be my favorite.

I will be sharing some other ways on how to cook yam and yam pottage but let us start with this one first

I was talking to a friend of mine about cooking yam and we kind of shared some childhood memories. Growing up we used to hate yam, but the older we grew, my love for yam began to grow. She on the other hand, still does not like yam. I can eat yam 20 different ways. I do not know if I shall share all 20, but I shall share some and in no particular order. My mom made so much with yam and as I write this, I have memories of me plucking pumpkin leaves from mother’s farm for some yam pottage.

We had a huge farm with all kinds of fruits, tubers and vegetables. I still remember mother’s tall Oha tree and okra plants. I am glad my mother still made us work in her farm despite our numerous cries. In fact it taught me a lot

Let us get to the recipe

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Yam and Plantain Pottage with Ugba
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 8-10 pieces of peeled white yam(cut into little pieces)
  • 1 finger of medium ripe plantain(peeled and cut up into medium sizes
  • 1 small red bell pepper
  • 2 plum tomatoes
  • 1 habanero pepper ie ata-rodo
  • 1 finger of chili or cayenne pepper
  • one small to medium onion(halved)
  • 1knorr cube(optional)...any bouillon works
  • salt to taste
  • 100mls of palm oil or two cooking spoons
  • 2tbsps of dry grinded crayfish
  • 1 medium dry fish. washed and shredded(optional)
  • smoked chicken(boiled to soften)
  • 1 cup of fresh shrimp
  • ½ cup of ugba ie oil bean
  • 2-3 cups of meat stock or water
  • a generous hand full of basil or scent leaves
Instructions
Preperation
  1. peel yam and cut into small pieces
  2. peel plantain and cut into small pieces
  3. blend peppers, half of the onion and the tomatoes, pour through an iron mesh sieve to remove any excess water
  4. cut the remaining onion into thin slices
  5. boil chicken to soften; then shred into medium pieces
  6. wash and shred fish, removing the bones
  7. wash shrimp with salt and water in a bowl shaking it vigorously to remove any impurities and bacteria
  8. wash and drain ugba
method
  1. heat up a sauce pan or a regular soup pot. Pour in the oil and make sure it gets hot, but does not bleach
  2. pour in the sliced onion and sauté until translucent
  3. pour in your shredded chicken and sauté; then add your tomato and pepper blend. Fry until the oil floats to the top
  4. Stir in the crayfish; then gently place the yam and plantain into the pot along with the dry fish.
  5. Pour in the meat stock to the level of the yam and plantain. Top up with water if the stock is not sufficient. Taste for seasonings and add some salt and or knorr cubes as needed
  6. bring the pot to a boil; then cover and reduce heat. Cook until the yam and plantains are soft; then with your spoon or ladle begin to partially crush the yam and plantain and stir very well.
  7. Stir in your ugba and shrimp and check for seasonings. Turn the heat to low and let the shrimp cook for about 3minutes or until pink. Stir in the basil leaves and serve
Notes
If you cannot find any yam, you may use potatoes

 

8 comments

  1. Kunle lawal says:

    the nutri c chef as I call her fuses African delicacies in a modern way still keeping the age old taste.shes indeed a culinary Picasso

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