MEAL : HOW TO PREPARE POUNDED YAM USING COCO YAM

   

 

        Just like every other yam,coco yam is a biennial root crops. It means that coco yam reaches its full maturity stage almost at the end of the second year of planting.
       Unlike every other yam, however, coco yam doesn't need stakes for its stalks to twist around so as to enhance its yield. Also, unlike every other yam, coco yam has many stalks of which each of them bears their different broad leaves. To enhance its yield, each of the stalks are usually bend at maturity stage. The tender leaves of coco yam are sometimes used as vegetables. In fact, the leaves use to be delicious inside soup.
   There mainly two types of coco yam, the red coco yam and the white coco yam. The former is the one that the best for making pounded yam, while the later, if needed to be made into pounded yam would need a quantity of cooked unripe plantains to "strengthening" it.
 Now, to prepare coco yam for pounded yam, the following steps are to take :
  *  Get a quantity of  ripe coco yam in proportion to the number of the family members to take it.
* Wash the coco yam to remove any dirt's or any microorganisms that might have being on it over time.
*  Put the coco yam inside a clean mud pot( Ikoko),or an iron pot(ape iron), with a little quality of water(almost into the half of the pot), and put it on fire with a cover for about 45 minutes to one hour,depending on the quantity and the source of energy.
   * Prepare the mortar and the pestle(s) by ensuring that they're all neat and clean.
*      Get a quantity of water into a pot or a kettle when the coco yam is about to be ready for pounding. This water,having boiled,would serve as a "softener solvent" for the coco yam during pounding.
    * When the coco yam is ready to be pounding, remove it from the fire and remove the "skin", one after the other using a cold water in a bowl and putting them inside the prepared mortar while the pestle would be used to do the pounding.
* At the beginning, be putting the mortar inside a bowl containing the hot water.This is done to ensure the softening of the pounding coco yam.
*   At intervals, having realized that there's no lump in it,a little quantity of the hot water would then be put, so as to further softening the pounded yam.
   * The above process could be repeated a number of times,depending on the quantity of the pounded yam or the "toughness" of the coco yam.
*  Finally, when the whole pounded yam seems "tender" enough, it can be packed away from the mortal and be served into plates, white nylon, or inside leaves(ewe eran, ewe ogede or even ewe gbodogi),if the pounded yam is not going to be taken almost immediately after preparation.
     Researches have shown that coco yam pounded yam is even richer and more nourished than other yams that could be made into  pounded yam.
     Any kind of soup can be used to eat coco yam pounded yam.