The British have their mash which they are very proud of, a true National Treasure. Well we can have our own too using a true National ingredient, Yam. Wherever you go in Nigeria, Yam is widely consumed. East, North, South, West, everybody eats Yam. When I was much younger, I always thought yam was only native to Nigeria and neighbouring West African Countries. I know better now as another root tuber is called Yam in North America but it looks different and the colour is orange. A dish originating from The South in the US called Candied yams, they also have mashed yam. In Latin America and parts of Asia, our local yam is also consumed but called succa yam I think. I just looooooove how food is Universal and I hope these similarities amongst our food will help gain Nigerian food global recognition and acceptance.
A few days ago I came up with the idea to make Steak au poivre, Nigerian. This steak is a French dish which simply means Steak served with peppercorns. Ooooooooh people, I SUCCEEDED. It was beyond amazing, and very, very, very, familiar. It ranked top of the best steaks I have ever eaten. While I was ruminating the idea for that steak in my head, I wanted to make it more authentically Nigerian by serving it with Yam chips instead of Potato chips, then a bell rang in my head, why not make Yam mash? After all, steak is commonly served with mash. People, another Dooney’s Kitchen Original was born. There are lots of similarities between potato and yam in cooking. In fact, two of my readers have made Potarita using my Yamarita recipe. They substituted Yam with Potato. Making this was very interesting. I failed on the first try as I ended up with something close to the texture of Pounded Yam. It occurred to me to throw away the traditional method of making mashed potatoes and amend it to suit the unique characteristics of yam. The recipe for mashed potatoes calls for a sprinkling of ground pepper, I used ground Uziza seeds, as Uziza seeds are a close relative to black peppercorns. Houston we have an announcement. It was successful. Creamy, smooth, delicious and oh so tasty. Move over mashed potatoes and mashed sweet potatoes, there is a new kid on the block. Yam is here to say and it deserves its place of honour amongst the centuries old greats.
You will need
boiled yam chunks
butter – softened/room temperature
milk – slightly warmed
salt
ground uziza seeds
P.S – To make it more rich and creamy, add double cream or creme fraiche, but for the benefit of my readers who may not have access to sourcing cream, I decided to make this recipe with ingredients that are universal.
How To
Get your tools ready. You will need either a fork, a potato masher or a potato ricer. In the picture below, the metallic object is a potato tier, while the black plastic one is a potato masher. I tried both
I preferred the potato masher, although if you were making mashed potatoes, it is recommended that you use the potato ricer as it gives better results. For yam, I don’t think so
1. Boil your yam in cubes till it is soft.
Once it is almost soft, warm your milk slightly. Just slightly. if your butter is not soft i.e. room temperature, heat it lightly in a microwave for 5 seconds. You just want to soften it, you don’t necessarily want it to melt.
2. Drain the yam cubes
Now to the mashing. If you are using a potato ricer, this is how it will work
this is why i ditched it and went back to the potato masher. See the end result below? I did not like the texture and on adding milk and butter, the texture became gluey and it started to resemble pounded yam.
3. Once the yam cubes have been drained, add butter, milk and a pinch of salt, then you proceed to mashing. You must do this gently. i.e. do not over beat the yam or it will get gluey and change into the texture of pounded yam. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: the addition of milk, butter and salt will help halt the pounded yam forming process, so don’t counter act their work by applying so much pressure, as if you are pounding yam by hand. Hehehe. Gently does it.
Even with the mashing, you can decide to mash till it is totally creamy, or leave a little chunks of yam in it. Some like creamy mash, others, like chunky mash, it depends on you. I like it in between, so i mashed it well but left little chunky bits about the size of pebbles and beans.
If you use cold milk or butter you will mess this up. If your butter is straight from the fridge, soften it slightly in a microwave and slightly warm the milk while the yam is boiling. Anything you add to the boiled yams must not be cold, and not flaming hot either.
As you are mashing, you will notice that the yams would be absorbing the milk and butter very fast, keep mashing gently and top up with milk and butter.
Once mashed, and it is smooth, top up a little with more milk and butter. What you are aiming for is the consistency of mashed potatoes and not pounded yam. If you have eaten mash before, you will know what I mean. If you haven’t, the best way I can describe the consistency you are aiming for is thick pap, or very very soft pounded yam, as if someone dunked in a lot of water while pounding. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: the mash should compress when pressed with a fork, that is when you know you have gotten it right.
sprinkle in about 1/2 a teaspoon of uziza for flavour and heat. Taste and decide if you want to add more or not. Also taste for salt and add more if necessary.
……………..and that’s it. Your creamy Yam Mash all done. Serve with grilled chicken or Steak.
For extra kick you can sprinkle on dry pepper, tiny chopped bits of ata rodo (scotch bonnet/habanero pepper) or simply use chilli oil. I used chilli oil.
Now, tell me what you think about yam mash. You may say oh it is Western food, think again, this is a good example of food fusion that works, and I mean works. No, it doesn’t taste like pounded yam, because of the butter, milk, salt and uziza.
If you add double/heavy cream, it will even taste more rich and creamy. I can bet that if you serve this your friends from other cultures, no one will tell you to take it back. It tastes really lovely. I hope you try it, and be as excited as I was, when I made it. I will be expecting your feedback.
If you have babies you are weaning, or toddlers, they will so loooooooove this.
Here is my Yam mash with my Steak au Uziza. Totally breathtaking. A Western meal, cooked Nigerian.
See you at the next post. Happy Coooking
Dis is lovely….ur one of my kitchen inspirations.Good luck n may God give u more insight n creativity
Thank you Jenny
Wowwwwww nice!
Thanks
Wow Gurrrl! You sure throw down! Ingenious idea! Much as I loathe mashed potatoes, I may well give this a go to see if I can be swayed? Texture is my problem with mashed potato as I can’t get rid of the memories of lumpy mash in boarding school lol! Well done – again!
From me to you, Gloria, I also loathe mashed potatoes, and I loved this one. if you don’t like lumpy mash, i suggest you make this in a food processor with the knife blade, lots of milk and butter to get a smooth texture
Very interesting, although it’s quite confusing. Pls what did you spread on the yam mash and how do you prepare your steak. If there is already an article, can I get d link? I m knew to tour blog pls. Thanks
What bit is confusing, so I can answer. I only spread chilli oil on it, to make it look pretty for photographs, otherwise it would have looked plain and bland
Hello dear, I wld like to know how to make d chilli oil or an alternative here in Nigeria. Plus a link on how to make the steak, if u already have an article on it. I think I can work my way through d mash n what kinda milk should we use for folks here in naija. Thanks.
To make chilli oil, you have to blend and chop chilli i.e. shombo and leave to soak in oil and a little vinegar for a few days till the oil changes to orange. The recipe for the steak i am yet to type, it should be up by tomorrow
Ok thanks a lot. I can’t wait for the steak how to. Meanwyl what milk should I use here in naija. If u can refer a particular brand that would b awesome. Mwah! U r doing a great job.
Thanks Ima. Evaporated milk mixed with water, or even powdered milk mixed with water. Remember to use warm water when mixing
I’ll try this next time I come across yams! It looks really good. Bet it tastes great too.
Oh, it does. Please let me know how it turns out
Hi Dunni. So, i’m at work going through your site ( i’m becoming an addict, i:e whenever i can get access to the internet anyways), a colleague walks to my desk and sees me going through it. Her next comments(after copying the web address with her eyes and checking it out), “the pictures are beautiful”, “her site is delicious”, ” she makes dishes look so simple”……..lol. And i’m here doing a little glee dance inside….just letting u know you are doing something wonderful. BTW, she’s still on your blog.hehehe
Aaaaaaaw, reading this now made me blush. Thank YOU. I appreicate the referral.
Lol. No biggie. You are most welcome ma. Thumbs up.
Thanks
Yay. My little man is saying thank you to Aunt Dunni for showing mummy how to do it. I have tried without success to get him to eat yam, even when mashed with butter. I guess twas the milk that cinched it. You should see how he wolfed it. I was hoping he’ll leave some for me, cos by Jove was it yummy!
Aaaaaw, what an amazing thing to read on a sunday. Well done. Getting a child to eat something they rejected before truly is a triumph. Well done Mummy
I was given this web ad. after complaining to a neighbour; I needed to spice things up in the kitchen dept. of my home, it was getting a bit like Secondary School where its the same 10 meals we eat for months………..reading this post(my first) just gave me an orgasm(no offence intended) its just such a refreshing feeling……..I hope to learn and do alot after i have read your stories and tried your recipes. Much love…….
Hahahahahahaha rachel. Welcome to Dooney’s kitchen. I hope you will be a repeat visitor with lots of kitchen success stories
I feel like quitting my job. Running to the market to buy every single ingredient on this blog and start cooking! Love you Dooney. My first trial was a success. Hubby wants more.
Aaaaaaaw, thanks Adeola. Much appreciated. Well done for trying Yam Mash
Dooney our Saviour..thank you so much,am new and am glued to your recepies
Made this today! I added a smidge of boiled ripe plantain and a sprinkling of dry pepper for the kids, tasted so good I made another batch for the hubster! Killer mash…
Nice one, looks yummy…..will definitely try this for my girls next month as I hope to introduce them to puréed food……funny I used to love mashed yam with Palm oil as a child…..