Yam porride (ASARO)

Ye’llo everyone,

    How’s autumn treating you guys? I’m still under the weather, trying to recuperate from  this flu bouncing around. Luckily, I have the fam bam to make me all the soups and teas I need. 😘Today, I’ll be teaching you guys how I make yam porridge or “Asaro” has it is popularly known

within the Yoruba people. Yam porridge is a staple in many Nigerian homes and it is made differently within each tribe. It is made with a different type of African yam called white/Puna yam. It Is the widely eaten yam in Nigeria. It is very high in carbohydrates. recipes.sparkpeople.com highlights the nutritional fact of yam. Mind you, if you’re on a diet, lol this is not the best food for you. Why? Depending on the portion taken though. According to Recipes.sparkpeople.com, one serving of just yam has about 155.6 Calories and 3.5 grams of fat. 😩 we also need to take into consideration that portioning was never  taught to us as kids. Now, add all the other ingredients present in yam porridge, 😩😩😩. I'll just leave it at that!

Ok, ok! I need to stop! It’s still an enjoyable meal, but should be eaten in moderation. Do not get too carried away because  It is very delicious 😋 

Let’s dive in! 

         Here are the ingredients:

1 white Puna Yam

3 shepherd pepper 

2 scotch bonnet

3 onions

1 handful of spinach

2 mackerel 

3 smoked fish

Ground crayfish

Palm oil

Table spoon of tomato paste

Chicken bouillon 

Salt

Sugar

2 table spoons of pando yam. 

1 table spoon of  butter 

Curry & thyme
(I should add that you can also add meat cut into small pieces into the porridge. l was too lazy to do that lol)

Prepping stage:

(1) I cut up my yam into cube like shape and set aside

(2) blended my pepper with little to no water: 2 onions, 3 shepherd pepper, 2 scotch bonnet.

(3) perboiled my smoked fish to take out the dirt particles and the bone.

(4) I, then, cooked my yam with about 2 table spoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of butter. 

(5) the yam cooked for about 15 mins on medium heat then set aside in a different pot with the excess water drained out.

(6) diced one onion and set aside.

Cooking stage:

(1) I have my frying pan on mid heat to allow it dry out. Then
poured about 1 cooking spoon of palm oil, let it bleach for 2 minutes.

(2) poured my diced onion into the oil, added a tea spoon of curry and thyme. Let that fry, while stirring for about 1.5 mins

(3) Added my blended pepper in, followed by my groun
ded crayfish, and 1 table spoon of tomato paste then continued stirring for another minute.

(4) At this point, my sauce was already looking thick, I added a bit of water, then poured my cleaned mackerel and smoked fish in. 

(5) 5minutes in, I added my mushroom bouillon. (Mind you, anything being fried needs to be stirred intermittently to avoid any burning) 

(6) the sauce was pretty much ready after  about 3mins. So I added my yam, and some of the stock from the yam. (Notice I didn’t let the raw mackerel cook all the way? That was because I wanted to take out the bone when it was half way cooked) 

(7) I then grabbed my turning stick, mashed the yam with the sauce till it is midway pounded. (This step is where people have different ways of cooking it. i prefer mine looking midway pounded rath
er sauce on a yam) 

(8) Here’s a trick many aren’t used to, but when I noticed there was too much water or it’s not looking thick enough, I added poundo yam to my porridge. Poundo yam is made from yam so it is  thesame thing 😋

(9) I let this simmer for 3minutes  on low heat while I still stirr. Then I added my spinach (this is optional) 

(10) Another 2 minutes and it was ready.

Thank you guys for the continuous support of the blog...

I’ll put up a post on my social media to ask what you guys want me to make next...you can post your answers in the comment section aswel. A lucky winner gets a bowl. (This is only for my Windsorites 😂) sorry guys! 

Until next time, au revoir!