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Iyan (Pounded Yam)

Iyan (Pounded Yam) is a traditional Nigerian recipe for a classic porridge staple made traditionally from pounded yam, but today made from yam flour. It is another example of the fufu-like dishes found throughout Western and Central Africa. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Nigerian version of: Iyan (Pounded Yam).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Serves:

6

Rating:

Tags : Nigeria Recipes

Iyan is the Yoruba name for pounded yam. This is a very popular African dish, especially in eastern and southern Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Cost (Côte d'Ivoire), Benin and a few other regions of West Africa. It is generally thought of as a special delicacy and thought of as a prestigious meal all over Africa.

Traditional pounded yam is made by boiling yams in a pot, and once cooked, it is placed in a mortar and pounded or beaten into a smooth textured dough with a 60cm-tall pestle.

These days Iyan can be made from dried yam powder which is available is African markets and some Asian stores.

Ingredients:

600g Oluolu Pound'ol Iyan (pounded yam flour)
1l boiled water

Method:

Add the 900ml water to a pot, bring to the boil and sprinkle the yam powder on top. Stir the powder in to make a dough. Keep stirring to incorporate the yam flour and cook, uncovered, until you attain a dough of the desired texture (this should be like a thin Breads dough). Once you have reached this stage, sprinkle some 100ml of water on the dough, cover the pot, reduce the heat as much as possible and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Knead the dough with a stout wooden spatula until you reach the desired smoothness and serve with a traditional stew such as Efo-riro.