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Kitchen Gadget Tricks

How to make Pounded Yam using a blender

You read that correctly. Read it first before you knock it. I promise you, you will be pleasantly surprised, and possibly shocked. Believe me, I was shocked too. Many of you probably already know that you can make Pounded Yam in a Food Processor. Click HERE for instructions. I would like to take a little credit for re-discovering that and bringing it back to people’s consciousness. Just a little credit. Hahahahahaha. Well, there has been some progress to that effect. I used to believe only a dough blade could produce smooth, stretchy pounded yam, But I have been proven wrong. I have even tested it myself countless times, and yes people, the knife blade produces gorgeous pounded yam.

Another tool you can use to make stress free and hot made in a flash pounded yam is to use a Stand Mixer. Yes, the type for making cakes, dough etc.

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You only need two attachments. The dough hook and the flat beater.

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dough hook on the left, beater on the right.

Some say use the beater to mash the yam and then finish off with the dough hook to form it into a ball, others reverse the process. I have seen living proof of both, so choose whichever method works for you. I will soon be in possession of a stand mixer, and I will make pounded yam and post pictures.

Do, you know that you can also use a Hand Mixer to make pound yam? Yes you can. If your hand mixer comes with the long thin dough hook, it will also make very stretchy pounded yam in minutes. I have even experimented with my Hand Blender. Not the blender itself mind you, but the chopper bowl. Most hand blenders come with 2 extra attachments. The whisk and the chopper bowl. I have a picture of the chopper bowl HERE. It is quick and handy kitchen tool to cut down chopping time to seconds. You can also use it to make pounded yam.

Image

the long bit on top is the hand blender motor. It has removable attachments. In this picture, I attached the big chopper bowl. See the knife blade in the bowl? Yes, it makes pounded yam. Will put up pictures in my Afia Efere (white soup) post.

Today though, I am going totally off-board. You have to praise the ingenuity of Nigerian women. A member of SYTCC, Titi posted a picture of pounded yam made in her blender, but not just an ordinary blender but a Ninja blender. A Ninja blender is a little special because the blade is not flat, like traditional blenders. Its own blade is really long and thin. See picture below. When I saw the picture, I said of course, this can make pounded yam easy peasy. This is not a traditional blender.

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image courtesy: www.ninjakitchen.com

A few weeks later, someone came with a claim that she made pounded yam using a traditional blender, and I was really quite skeptical. Unfortunately the pictures attached weren’t clear and I shrugged it off, but recently other women have been making claims, but with no pictures attached and I thought hmmmmn, this one I have to try to believe. Not many things challenge me like food does. To say I was astounded is probably an understatement. I had to use the Motion Capture mode of my camera to shoot live pictures, so you would believe it.

I can confidently tell you that it works, and I will point at how, with extra tips and what to look out for. If you feel you have been marginalised, because you don’t have any of the devices I stated above, well you are in luck now. Welcome to the Club of Real Pounded Yam eaters. I have to insist though that by watching how it makes this, your blender has to have a powerful motor, because it will struggle at the beginning and possibly burn out. I don’t want to be responsible for anyone having to buy a new blender. I will go so far as to recommend from 300W – 400W upwards. I stand corrected, I had initially written 600W. I always thought my blender was 600W. I just checked the Philips Website, and it is 300W.  If you have a low wattage blender, like mine, unless you have been using it for ages and trust it, be careful. Caveat Emptor i.e. be warned. Oh, one more big ups for my blender. I have been using it since 2007 and it has done everything. It can also be used to peel the skin off beans. Yes it can, Yes it ca. Click HERE for instructions

How To 

1. Cut the yam into pieces and boil. When it has cooked through, cut into smaller pieces, using a table knife, while the yams are still in the pot. This is essential. You want to make sure they are hot, so at no time should you take the yams out and cut on a plate. Turn the heat down to low, to ensure the yams remain hot and go get your blender.

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2. Add 2 – 3 pieces of yam to the blender, cover it and turn it on for a few seconds and stop. DO NOT add water. Repeat it again for a few seconds and stop. This is to protect the engine. With each session of the engine being on, you will see the blades crush the yam and start to form a ball.

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Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: i will recommend that you experiment first with this, to see how it works. Don’t get too excited. Start with a few pieces from start to finish, then you can get bolder. See pictures below. The yams have been crushed and are forming into a ball. Give yourself a few seconds to be amazed. Hehehehehehe. Keep at it for a few seconds and that ball will turn smooth and proper like pounded yam. I was too amazed to take the picture of the complete product.

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3. Scoop out the ball, and start again. This time, with 3 pieces, repeat step two, but this time, after the first few seconds of blending, when you can see that the yams have crushed, open the blender and leave it open. See picture below. Once you have this, you know you are good to go. Stop the blender, add a few more pieces of yam and repeat the dance again, until you have quite enough crushed yams in the blender, then you keep the engine running and let it pull together.

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4. The crushed yam pieces will go from the picture you can see above, to the one below. Here is where my Motion Capture component comes in. See people, how shocking is that? As the engine is rotating the blades, the crushed yam will be pulled together to form a ball, and that ball will be rolling around, and rolling around, and stretching to form pounded yam. The flipping thing works.

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Still in shock? Enlarge the picture if you want. Loooool.

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See it rolling and stretching, and rolling and stretching, and rolling and stretching. All this is happening in a very short space of time.

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…………….and there you have it. Pounded Yam. Do you believe now?

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Because you are going to have to scoop out with your hands, it will be a little messy on the plate, so I advice you scoop it out unto a plastic sheet, you know the types we wrap starchy solids in, or even a rinsed supermarket bag. Once you have all the pounded yam done, cover it in the plastic wrap, and mould in your hands to look pretty, and that’s all.

Yes, it is probably a little fiddly than the other devices, because you have to start slow first before it kicks into a ball, but who cares really. You get your hot pounded yam, without spending extra money on another kitchen device. The beauty of this is that, I not only used old leftover yam which had been sitting on my kitchen cart for days in this cold weather, making it even more tough, it was also the bottom part of the yam, which traditionally is quite difficult to make pounded yam with because it tends to be much tougher and more fibrous. So, even with tough yam, it works. Well, this isn’t manual pounding, an engine is involved. BOOM!!!!

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We now have a list of devices, pick which ever you want

Food Processor

Stand Mixer

Hand Mixer

Hand Blender Chopper Bowl- see above.

Ninja Blender

See v

Traditional blender

I can already imagine many of you rushing out to buy yam this weekend. Well good, it’s about time. Throw away your packet of Poundo Flour while you are at it. Please try it and send me pictures. Welcome to the club of The Real Pounded Yam Eaters.


106 Comments

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FILED UNDER: Kitchen Gadget Tricks
TAGGED WITH: how to make Pounded Yam in a blender, Pounded yam in a bender
Dooney

About Dooney

Dooney is the blogger, recipe developer and photographer for Dooney's Kitchen. I spend my days trying to figure out creative ways to redefine Nigerian food, either by creating a new dish itself using ingredients in ways that have never been used before, or changing the approach to Nigerian cooking using kitchen gadgets.

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Comments

  1. AvatarHamira Tamiko El-Zakir says

    June 20, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    I tried this with your egusi recipe and ma hubby loved it!!!! He was in shock when i brought out pounded yam and he dint hear any pounding and it wasn’t poundo either. I was sooo proud!! Thank you soo much for your posts, recipes and creativity!! You have no idea how many homes you’ve saved with this especially ‘lazy’ cooks like mee!! Nigerian meals are awesome and as much as i love to cook they can be quite tasking. Sadly i did not take a pic of it ‘cos i was too hungry mehn! but i’ll try to do that for the next one. May God continue to increase you and bestow the knowledge for more creative ideas on u. Amen.

    Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      June 21, 2014 at 7:53 pm

      Aaaaaaaaw, bless you Hamira. Loved your prayers. Amen and Amen

      Reply
  2. Avatartolulope says

    June 23, 2014 at 3:47 pm

    I can’t wait o. I am trying it out this weekend. Thanks Dooney. Proud of you always

    Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      June 23, 2014 at 9:34 pm

      Thank you TOlu. Please let me know how it goes

      Reply
  3. AvatarDaydah says

    July 8, 2014 at 10:26 pm

    Dooney darling! I was sent to your blog for the technique of making pounded yam with food processor by a friend, from Facebook.
    After reading and staring at the pictures, I went to dealdey, then to konga to look for the models suggested in the comments. Imagine my surprise when I wanted to pin the article via another browser, and did a google search – I got THIS instead!
    God bless you and all your offspring combined! I am definitely trying this this weekend! I will send you pictures.

    PS: I hope those Maggi Kitchen people settled you well well o! Happy to see the copyright announcement on your blog. The maggi theft was the first time I heard of your blog.

    Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      July 9, 2014 at 1:00 pm

      You are welcome Daydah. I will be waiting for pictures. Yes, the matter has been resolved. Thanks for checking in

      Reply
  4. Avatartemmie says

    November 26, 2014 at 7:13 am

    OMG! I must try this blender own oo..I am a typical Ekiti girl, growing up we usually eat pounded yam every Sunday but the stress is a lot and I just couldn’t do it after I got married so I got stuck in Poundo yam. I came across your blog on IG and this is the best follow I have done. We are having pounded yam this weekend. No story! I must amaze hubby. No more poundo yam..i was eagerly praying blender works as I don’t have a food processor. I will come and testify to the goodness of Dooneys kitchen. Well done girl! U simply rock.

    Reply
  5. Avatarhardlianotion says

    January 5, 2015 at 1:26 am

    Excellent. That’s your site bookmarked. I am going amaze my relatives with home-done pounded yam. Now about that egos soup…

    Reply
  6. Avatarify says

    January 16, 2015 at 10:51 am

    dooney dooney u re too much, I just loveu the more

    Reply
  7. AvatarWale Ikuseru says

    January 27, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    Dunni, Thanks for your site. I stumbled on it while looking for a yam pounder. The old yam pounder by National has been recreated but selling for a bomb!

    If I want to produce pounded yam on a LARGE scale, is it better to buy a mixer rather than a food processor?

    Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      January 28, 2015 at 2:11 am

      Hi Wale, mixer is better

      Reply
  8. AvatarMo says

    February 6, 2015 at 9:47 am

    Hello Dooney, Recently found your site. Must commend your good work. Really, Thank you!

    So this is how I found your site. My husband has been complaining that there is no food at home (even though the freezer was stocked with food!), apparently, he was tired of what we had at home – that was what he meant by there is no food at home. So I told him would he like edikaikong, he laughed and said do i know how to cook it, i told him we don’t live in the stone ages and u can basically learn anything in like 5 mins, well at least have an idea. He was doubtful and I went out to prove him wrong. Found your site, looked up the recipe, went shopping, told my customer what I wanted to cook and she packed it all for me with her additional instructions. Bottom line, it came out great! Yay!! He loved it and i learned how to cook a new soup which I also liked considering am not very adventurous with food.

    So on Sunday after service, i said I would try the pounded yam in a blender, I am from Ijesha and that is our food not all the poundo yam stuff, yuck! It turned out amazingly good.Enjoyed it with my vegetables.

    So I said all this just to say thank you. You definitely have a fan and ardent follower.

    PS: I told him I would cook something new every weekend and yesterday when I got home from work I made the Yamarita and ata dindin. My hubby has worked in the food industry for over 15 years including TFC so he was very skeptical, but waited patiently. Bottom line, he loved it and he ate it all up! another Yay!

    I discovered the Chinese Crispy Sweet Chilli Beef. My Hubby loves Chinese. So wish me luck. Making this tomorrow with some rice – thinking of the king prawn fried rice!

    Mo!

    Reply
    • AvatarMo says

      February 6, 2015 at 9:48 am

      Sorry, I was too excited to take photos. Will make a note to do so tomorrow.

      Mo!

      Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      February 6, 2015 at 4:31 pm

      Aaaaaaaw, hugging you from here. Well done

      Reply
  9. AvatarAyo says

    March 4, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    About 2 years ago I bought a yam pounder – Osuji which was just a waste of money (it was a crudely fashioned mixer) so I was actually searching for a yam pounder that work when I found your site and have been hooked. I found your mixer/blender method curious. Is the Ninja blender available in Nigeria?

    I am in the process of replacing my Cake mixer and would like you to recommend a mixer that I can also use to make pounded yam.

    I found all your recipes very innovative! Well done!

    Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      March 4, 2015 at 10:30 pm

      Hi Ayo, try a Kenwood. You won’t regret it

      Reply
  10. AvatarAkande says

    March 21, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    Hi Dooney thanks a bunch. I’m married to an ondo man hence the need for pounded yam. I used my blender this evening and got 2 thumbs up. Quick question can I add water n at what stage?

    Reply
    • dooneyrooneydooneyrooney says

      March 22, 2015 at 9:55 pm

      Yes, but only when you know you need it

      Reply
  11. AvatarAnne says

    October 5, 2015 at 11:11 am

    “The flipping thing works” lol….I could practically hear the excitement in your words. I’ll be trying this next time I get my hands on some yam. I live in Saudi, so I’m not always lucky to get some.

    Reply
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Hi, my name is Dunni Obata, and I am what you would call the poster child for redefining Nigerian food. Welcome to Dooney's Kitchen, the home of Nigerian centric food, detailed recipes and sharing personal stories. Read more...

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