What it is
Boiled white yam beaten in a wooden mortar until it becomes a smooth, elastic, slightly sticky dough. It is the most labour-intensive of the Nigerian swallows and, by wide agreement, the finest textured.
Key ingredients
- White yam
- Water
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Rolled into a small ball with the fingers of the right hand, dipped into soup such as egusi, efo riro or ogbono, and swallowed whole.
Cultural significance
Yam holds a status in southern Nigeria that no other crop matches. It is the crop honoured at new yam festivals, presented at marriage negotiations and used as a measure of a farmer's standing, and pounded yam is its most prestigious form. The rhythmic sound of pestle on mortar was until recently a familiar morning noise in Yoruba and Igbo households; machines and instant yam flour have replaced much of that labour without fully replacing the texture.
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