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Welcome to Celtnet's Yam-based Recipes Page — The yam is an African or Asian tuber that's used as a starchy staple, particularly to accompany West African 'soups' (ie stews). It is also available in just about every African/Caribbean market in the West. The description and images below give a brief description of the plant and its tubers.
Here you will find information about yam plants and the uses of the starchy tubers as food, as well as seeing the web's largest collection of yam-based recipes. |
The word 'yam' is ultimately derived from the Senegalese Wolof word nyam (literally 'to sample' or 'to taste') which entered Portuguese as inhame and Spanish as ñame. It is the common name for various edible tubers in the genus Dioscorea (of the Dioscoreaceae family), a group of perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania. Yams are a primary agricultural commodity in West Africa and New Guinea and evidence suggests that were first cultivated in Africa and Asia about 8000 BCE. Today, Nigeria is the world's largest producer of Yams and the starchy tuber was, historically, highly regarded in Nigerian ceremonial culture and used as a vegetable offered during blessings. Even today, the yam is of central importance to Nigerian Igbo culture (in the Igbo language it is known as ji) and it is honoured in yam festivals known as Iri-ji or Iwa-Ji depending on the dialect.
African yams, however, contain various substances that, if consumed raw, can cause illness. As a result all African yams must be cooked to render them safe before consumption. Typically they are peeled, cubed and boiled. The yam is then either mashed (as would be done for potatoes) or it is pounded in a mortar until smooth (this dish is known as iyan and served as a starch base to accompany African-style soups. Yam is also rendered into flour and this is mixed with water until smooth and cooked until thickened before being served as a starchy accompaniment. In Nigeria yam is also sun-dried, where the pieces turn brown. They are then milled to create a powder known as "elubo" in Nigeria. The brown powder can be prepared with boiling water to create a thick brown starchy paste known as 'amala'. Yam can also be boiled with plantains before being drained, mashed and served. This is often prepared for children, particularly in Liberia. The most commonly cultivated species are Dioscorea rotundata, the 'white yam', and Dioscorea cayenensis, the 'yellow yam' (between them, however, there are more than 200 known cultivated varieties).
In Asia, it is the purple yam,
The purple yam is also grown in Africa, where it is known as the 'water yam' but it is most commonly grated and boiled as an addition to stews or starchy bases.
Yam is also eaten in Central India, where it is typically finely sliced, seasoned with spices and deep fried. In southern parts of India, the vegetable is a popular accompaniment to fish curry. In Assam, it is known as Kosu (কচু) and is normally boiled, mashed and lightly seasoned with salt before being served as an accompaniment.
Alphabetical list of yam-based recipes follow (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 77 recipes in total:
| Nkontommire (Palaver 'Sauce') Origin: West Africa | Efere Usung Udia Origin: Nigeria | Pork and Yam Pepper Soup Origin: Nigeria |
| Afia Efere (White Soup) Origin: Nigeria | Ekoki Origin: Cameroon | Pounded Yam Fufu Origin: Ghana |
| Afia Efere Ebot (White Soup with Goat Meat) Origin: Nigeria | Ekpang Nkukwo Origin: Nigeria | Ragoût Béninoise (Beninese Ragout) Origin: Benin |
| Afia Efere Unen (White Soup with Chicken) Origin: Nigeria | Elubo (Yam Flour) Origin: Nigeria | Riz Senegalais (Senegalese Rice) Origin: Senegal |
| Afia Efere Uyayak (White Soup with Aidan Fruit) Origin: Nigeria | Ewa-Ebe Origin: Nigeria | Safari Steak Origin: Kenya |
| African Curried Peanut Soup Origin: South Africa | Fried Yam Chips Origin: Nigeria | Sancoche Origin: Trinidad |
| Amala Origin: Nigeria | Hervido de pescado (Boiled Fish with Vegetables) Origin: Costa Rica | Smoked Fish with Tomato and Yam Origin: Nigeria |
| Amala and Ewedu Origin: Nigeria | Igname Frite (Guinean Fried Yams) Origin: Guinea | Special Yam Pottage Origin: Nigeria |
| Arvi aur Gosht ka Khatta Salan (Taro Roots and Lamb in a Tangy Sauce) Origin: India | Ikokore Origin: Nigeria | Spicy West African Yam Soup Origin: West Africa |
| Asaro (Yam Stew) Origin: Nigeria | Isu (Boiled Yams) Origin: Nigeria | Squash and Yam Futari Origin: Tanzania |
| Asaro II (Yam Porridge) Origin: Nigeria | Iwuk Efere Origin: Nigeria | Turkey Curry with Yams Origin: Fusion |
| Ashanti Chicken Origin: Ghana | Iyan (Pounded Yam) Origin: Nigeria | Vegetable Leaves and Yams Origin: Central African Republic |
| Baked Fish with Yam Stuffing Origin: Jamaica | Khanom Jeen Nam Ya (Khanom Jeen Noodles) Origin: Thailand | Velouté d'Ignames (Cream of Yam Soup) Origin: Cote dIvoire |
| Bayou Yam Muffins Origin: Cajun | Kokoro II Origin: Nigeria | Yam and Beans Origin: Nigeria |
| Cachupa Rica Origin: Cape Verde | Nigerian Fish Cakes Origin: Nigeria | Yam and Cashew Nut Loaf Origin: American |
| Caldo de Peixe II (Cape Verdean Fish Stew II) Origin: Cape Verde | Obe Ewekoko (Cocoyam Leaf Soup) Origin: Nigeria | Yam and Greens Porridge Origin: Nigeria |
| Carne Gizado (Stewed Meat and Vegetables) Origin: Cape Verde | Ofe-Owerri Soup Origin: Nigeria | Yam Balls Origin: West Africa |
| Cassava and Plantain Mash Origin: African Fusion | Ofobo Nmong Efere (Yam Pepperpot) Origin: Nigeria | Yam FuFu Origin: West Africa |
| Cassava Soup Origin: Liberia | Ojojo Origin: Nigeria | Yam Paste with Ginkgo Nuts Origin: China |
| Chicken Curry with Yams Origin: Fusion | Ojojo II Origin: Nigeria | Yam Peanut and Chilli Loaf Origin: Liberia |
| Cocoyam Pottage Origin: Nigeria | Okru Awon Origin: Nigeria | Yam Soup Origin: Nigeria |
| Domoda Origin: Gambia | Onunu Origin: Nigeria | Yam Spice Bars Origin: African Fusion |
| Domoda Sénégales (Senegalese Domoda) Origin: Senegal | Oto (Mashed Yams with Eggs) Origin: Ghana | Yam with Greens, Onion, and Okra Origin: Nigeria |
| Dundu Origin: Nigeria | Peanut Stuffing for Roast Chicken Origin: West Africa | Yam, Cassava and Plantain Pizza Base Origin: African Fusion |
| Dundu Oniyeri Origin: West Africa | Pigeon and Wolfberry Stew Origin: China | Yams with Tomatoes Origin: Cote dIvoire |
| Dundun Oniyeri (Fried Yam) Origin: Nigeria | Poisson au Lait de Coco (Fish in Coconut Milk) Origin: Cote dIvoire |
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