Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Cook's Guide entry for Yams along with all the Yams containing recipes presented on this site, with 59 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Yams recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Yams as a major wild food ingredient.



Yams are monoctyledonous plants (have only a single embryonic leaf in the seed) and are related to lilies and grasses. Native to Africa and Asia, yams vary in size from that of a small potato to over 60kg. There are over 600 varieties of yams and 95 percent of these crops are grown in Africa.

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). Interestingly, though, as Igbo is related to Wolof, in English the Igbo tend to pronounce yam as 'nyam', with the 'n' sounded.

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).

Yams are large plants; the vines can be as long as 10 to 12 meters. The tubers most often weigh about 2.5 to 5 kilograms each but can weigh as much as 25 kilograms. After 7 to 12 months growth the tubers are harvested. In Africa most are pounded into a paste to make the traditional dish of 'pounded yam' (see below).

In Asia, it is the purple yam, Dioscorea alata that is most commonly eaten and it is typically made into sweet desserts and/or preserves. Indeed, genetic evidence shows that this yam was was first cultivated in Southeast Asia. Although not grown in the same quantities as the African yams, it has the largest distribution world-wide of any cultivated yam, being grown in Asia, the Pacific islands, Africa, and the West Indies. Even in Africa, the water yam is second only to white yam in terms of popularity any many Nigerian recipes specifically use water yam as an ingredient. However, it tends to be boiled in stews rather than being cooked in cakes as it is in Africa.

The purple yam is also grown in Africa, where it is known as the 'water yam' or 'wateryam' but there it is most commonly grated and boiled as an addition to stews or starchy bases. However, the more common African water yam is a yellow-fleshed form.

Dioscorea opposita, the 'Chinese yam', is native to China. The Chinese yam plant is somewhat smaller than the African, with the vines about 3 meters long. It is tolerant to frost and can be grown in much cooler conditions than other yams. It is now grown in China, Korea, and Japan. It was introduced to Europe in the 19th century when the potato crop there was falling victim to disease, and is still grown in France for the Asian food market.

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.

Like potatoes, yams are grown from small tubers called 'seed yams' that are planted in mounds at the start of the rainy season.

Yams in Cookery

The large tubers which are typically white or yellow in colour (but purple in the purple yam or water yam Dioscorea alata). In terms of cookery they can be used in much the same way as potatoes (though they are harder and require longer cookery to soften). They can be roasted, baked, fried, boiled, barbecue and smoked. When grated they are also suitable for making desserts and even cakes. They are starchy, but slightly sweeter in taste than potatoes. As they are a harder tuber, yams keep their shape well on extended cooking and are ideal for adding to stews.

Preparing boiled yam involves cutting the tuber into five or so thick slices, then peeling the skin from each cut piece and boiling the whitish starchy flesh. The older the yam, the smaller the chunks must be cut and the more water it will need to boil.

In Africa, where the yam is a staple (it is an integral part of Igbo culture in Nigeria and Ga culture in Ghana) yams tend to be boiled to cook. As a staple they are often mashed an in Igbo culture that are pounded in a mortar to make iyan (pounded yam). It is typically eaten with soup (a stew often containing greens and a thickening agent like okra or peanut butter) that is thick and which can be scooped up with pieces of yam or yam paste to be eaten.

Another method of consumption is to leave the raw yam pieces to dry in the sun. When dry, the pieces turn a dark brown colour. These are then milled to create a brown powder known in Nigeria as elubo. The powder can be mixed with boiling water to create a thick starchy paste known as amala, which is used in local soups and sauces.

In the Philippines, the purple ube species of yam (Dioscorea alata), is eaten as a sweetened dessert called 'ube halaya', and is also used as an ingredient in another Filipino dessert, halo-halo. It is also used as a popular ingredient for ice cream. In Indonesia, the same purple yam is used for preparing desserts. This involves mashing the yam and mixing it with coconut milk and sugar. White and off-white fleshed yams are cut in cubes, cooked, lightly fermented, and eaten as afternoon snacks.

In central parts of India, the yam (Khamalu or Chupri alu) is prepared by being finely sliced, seasoned with spices and deep fried. In southern parts of India, known as Karunai Kizhangu (க௫ைணகஂகிஙஂத) in Tamil, the vegetable is a popular accompaniment to rice dishes and fish curry. Also eaten in India, Dioscorea alata, a purple-pigmented species, is known as ratalu or violet yam. In the southern part, especially in Kerala, you can see both purple and white coloured yams, locally known as "Kaachil or Kavuttu"