Yamarita, yamarita, yamarita. I remember the first time I saw this written on the menu board in Tasty Fried Chicken popularly called TFC, I wondered what it was but I ordered my regular fried rice and chicken, because I am not adventurous with food sold commercially. I stick to what I know I will like so i don’t get pissed about wasting money. Lol. On another visit to TFC, the customer in front of me ordered Yamarita fries and I decided to stand back and watch what would be served. I was quite impressed to see yam packaged better than the fried yam (dun dun) phenomenon that most of us grew up with. I don’t particularly like yam, you must have read on my Yam and plantain porridge post HERE. One of the maids I grew up with used to boil it with sugar, and it became tolerable, which explains why I cook yam porridge with plantain – the sweetness.
Yamarita is basically fried yam, but fried yam 2.0. Just as with fish, prawns or any kind of seafood, you roll the yam in flour, dip it in egg and fry. As simple as that, and very sophisticated too. I know I probably sound like a broken record on the issue of packaging and presentation which will be the messiah of Nigerian food to a global audience, but Yamarita fries embodies what I mean perfectly. If you plate this simple dish, all fancy fancy, it can be served at a posh restaurant anywhere in the world. Which is what ticks me off with restaurants in high brow areas of Nigeria. The chefs are not creative or imaginative enough with Nigerian food. I don’t blame them too, you give your clientele what they want. When I think of chefs like Heston Blumenthal who pushes the boundaries with food, I will still maintain that if you create, your clientele will still respond.
So, today I am making fried yam extra special. It is not even that much work. You can serve this at home, or for guests, either as a starter or our popular after the main meal “small chop”. I am pairing it with an intensely delicious tomato sauce, just as TFC serves it. One thing missing is the Charcoal lit chicken though. My mouth is watering just remembering that chicken.
You will need
12 – 15 rectangular slices of yam – or more depending on how many people
1 egg
3 – 4 tbs of flour
1/2 tbs of cayenne pepper – dry pepper
1 tsp curry powder
Salt
Seasoning cubes – knorr chicken cubes preferred
2 Tomatoes
1 red chilli – you substitute with ata rodo (scotch bonnet/habanero pepper)
Olive oil
1/2 red onion
1 clove of garlic
How To
1. Cut the tuber of yam into circles, peel off the skin and cut rectangular slices about an inch thick and rinse with tap water. Create as many slices as you want. I will calculate about 4 – 5 slices per person.
2. Boil the slices with enough water and salt. You will need roughly 7 – 10 minutes, but you have to monitor this closely because you don’t want to over cook the yam which will cause it to break apart when you fry in oil. So, by the 7 minute mark, test with a fork. If it gives way easily, then take it out off the heat. If you can still feel a little resistance, let it boil for another 2 – 3 minutes. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: as soon as the yams are soft, drain out the water. If you leave the yams in hot water, it will continue cooking.
3. While the yams are boiling, prepare the flour. i.e pour the flour unto a plate, sprinkle in the cayenne pepper, curry powder, salt, half a seasoning cube and combine thoroughly. Break an egg in a bowl and sprinkle in cayenne pepper, the other half of the seasoning cube and a little salt. Also heat up oil in a deep saucepan. You need the oil to get very hot. The volume of oil that you use will depend on the size of the pan. You are going to deep fry the yam slices, so you need enough oil.
4. Take the boiled yam slices out from the pot, one by one and roll in flour
dip the flour coated slices in the egg mixture one at a time
drop in the hot oil. If the oil is hot enough, each side should turn crisp and golden in under a minute, flip over to let the other side fry, then sieve out of the oil with a frying spoon.
Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: yamarita is as pleasing to the eye as it is tasty, you want it to be golden brown and not burnt. So, don’t let it sit in the oil for too long. This method can be used to fry fish or chicken. Hey, KFC’s famous chicken is fried like this. British fish and chips is also fried like this, though some recommend batter. I intend to try this out at home soon, and I will put it up, once I do.
5. Fry the rest of the slices.
Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: depending on how many slices you have to fry, you may have to turn down the heat a little bit, because the oil can get too hot and the yam will burn in a matter of seconds. You don’t want that
…………………….and that’s it. Delicious, crunchy Yamarita fries. Doesn’t it look gorgeous
Now, to the Ata dindin – yamarita is not complete without this
How To
1. Chop the onion, tomatoes, chilli and garlic and set aside
2. Heat up 2 cooking spoons of olive oil, add the curry powder and thyme. let this fry for a minute. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: frying spices in oil, intensifies the flavour.
3. Add the chopped ingredients from Step 1
sweat out the contents of the pan and keep frying
4. Keep frying until the tomatoes break down. At no point should you add water . Add 1 – 2 bay leaves, 1 cube of seasoning cube, a sprinkling of salt and stir
keep frying until the sauce reduces and the colour turns dark and the sauce is thick with golden coloured oil showing at the sides of the pan. Taste for salt and seasoning.
…………………………………………………………………..and you are done. Your delicious ata dindin
…………………………………..and there you have it. Yamarita and ata dindin
crispy, golden and delicious
If you want to serve yamarita with other dipping sauces, your options are plain mayonnaise, but I will recommend Aioli which is garlic mayonnaise. My recipe for homemade mayonnaise can be found HERE
Teaser pic for the next post. Yamarita vs Calamari.
definitely gonna try this tonight!
Great. Please let me know how it turns out
Hey dooney, just gave my hubby and friend this, it’s delicious! A lil twist to mine, added
King prawn to my ata dindin. Too hungry to take picture thou! Thanks!
King Prawn to Ata din din, now that is very creative. Well done
hi Dunni? Thanks 4 d tips but pls is ds cayenne pepper d same as (ata gungun)as we fondly say here,so confusing jorrr
Yes, it is the same thing
most definitely making this for breakfast tomorrow morning…thanks Dooney.
Hi Dunni, great work you are doing here! I have tried your yamarita recipe twice, the first time i followed it to the letter and the result was scrumptious! the second time i decided to cut corners by mixing the egg with the flour and dipping the yam into it before frying (in my typical manner of thinking, i wondered why i couldn’t just mix the flour and egg and save some time and hassle instead of repeating a very similar process). The product was edible but lacking the slight crunchy finish the first had. Guess i learnt my lesson— keep up the good work and God bless you
You are very welcome. If it is not broken, don’t fix it. At least you have somehting to fall back on, knowing you can create scrumptious Yamarita. Well done
Dooooooooooooooooney, I made yamarita this morning for hubby and he loved it. The man licked the sauce after he finished the yam. Thanks so much for the recipe, funny enough I have heard about yamarita but never ate it till today.
Aaaaaaaw, well done you
Thanks so much Dooney for the good work you are doing! Just tried this with my Irish potato, it came out well even though I know yam would have been better ( yam is like gold here o, lol). Am your big fan o, I visit your blog like daily! Thanks once more, loads of hugs!!!
Very creative. Use what you have to get what you want. Well done
Wow, so I made the yamarita wiyh the sauce. My hubby so loved it. I believe adding the seasoning to the hot oil before adding the onions, tomatoes, etc intensifies the flavour for real.
Yes it does. Well done
Dunni i find that deeping the yam in egg first and the flour is crunchier(if that’s a word…lol)and i prefer it that way, the first time i made it egg first and then flour second was a mistake but then the second time i made it right i knew something was off and i was wondering so realize i prefer deeping egg first and the flour. it was really nice.
It will be more crunchy that way because by dipping in egg first, you will get more flour to stick on the yam. I reverse the process, to get less flour but both work all the same. Glad you found the one you prefer. Well done
dooneyyyy thanks for d recipe, will surely try it tomorrow. I must say you are doing a great job . God bless you..a big hug sis…
Amen. Thank you Simi.
Hello dear Dooney, e we so o, just a quick question please…thinking of making this for breakfast on Valentine’s day, i have noticed that you use red onions for your recipes, why’s that please? any difference between the white and red onions? thanks.
Eweso o. I prefer red onions because of their sweetness. I don’t like the sharpness of white at all. Personal preference. I love red onions so much, many times I eat them alone with boiled meat when I am cooking. Lol. Great idea to serve Yamarita for breakfast on Valentines
Hi Dooney,
Thanks for the great recipes…so I have 2 questions not sure if someone already asked couldn’t go through the whole thread….1. If I want to bake the yamarita do I just coat it in oil before putting it in the oven or is there something else to make it come out that crispy…2. I made one of your moinmoin recipe yesterday tasted delicious however it was not solid enough let’s just say a bit watery. I was wondering what I did wrong…I am suspecting I added too much water into my paste…..thanks you are a my food savior…XOxo Lola
Wow, I have never tried baking it before. I will suggest, you sprinkle it with a little olive oil and breadcrumbs to make it the batter crisp up. If moin moin comes out bot solid, the only culprit is watery. If the solution is too watery, it won’t solidify. I suggest, measuring your water carefully, when mixing. If it comes out watery again, just open it up to air, it will harden a little more in a few minutes. I hope that helps
Thanks you….
You are welcome Lola
doooonnneeeeyyy ooo. do I have to do the coating and frying one by one. ……..cant I just pour the flour on the yam mix and pour the egg mix and pour in hot oil………#diaryofalazyyamaritafan
Hmmmmn, that is an idea o, I just don’t know how it will work. You can try it with like 4 pieces of yam first, and see. If it works, please, please send me pictures. I am interested in the result
I’m definitely making this tomorrow Dooney
Please do and let me know how it turns out
Hi Dooney ,
Can you use any kind of olive oil for frying or must be pure or extra virgin?
Any kind of live oil, preferably the bland tasting type
thanks so much for this,been wanting to try this.
Please do and let me know
Ahh, you have done well my sista. You just took me right back to TFC lagos, I’m back now sha 🙂 Just finished a small plate of delicious yamarita and ata din din in which I incorporated crayfish. Yummy! Great job Dunni.
Hahahahahahaha, the quickest and cheapest trip to lagos. Well done. Love the twist using crayfish
My favourite TFC dish. ♯loveallthings’Yammy’
HI Dooney…….made yamarita again this weekend and I’m still amazed with the taste…..so delicious…..my family can’t have enough, kept asking for more. My husband is especially grateful for your influence on my kitchen….he’s been enjoying all your recipes I’ve been trying out…..thanks and God bless you!
whoa!! so, i finally made my yamarita o, and it was yamalicious! lol. i was still able to use the oil though. thumbs up Dunni.
hi dooneey,
i must say i am very grateful for your steps on cooking efo riro. I googled it yesterday and decided to follow your procedure, got home and cooked it and my husband totally finished the food and even asked for it very early this morning. ORI MI WO. GOD BLESS YOU
thank you
Hi Dunni, may your bless you and your generation, you ve made me a better cook. I tried your lumpy egusi soup on sunday for a client’s party with a twist of adding a little okazi leaves to it, it came out so nice that my client had to reserve a bowl of the soup for christmas. I loooooooooove you so much! You ve been a blessing to me, I will be making this yamarita for a client’s party next week, I will come back to testify. May God increase you greatly my cooking hero
You are most welcome. So, where is my share of the money
Dooneyskoko, I jst made dis, it’s so fantastic, u too much hubby asked ffor more, cudnt stop praising. I didn’t have flour at home so I used oats as my flour substitute, also triedd some with wheat Flour, after removing from d pan I sprinkled dry pepper and salt. Served wit geisha sauce and ketcchup. Had to make use of what I have at home and yes it came out nice. Thanks Dooney.
Oh really!!!! OMG, I am going to try that.