YAM porridge can also be referred to as yam soup. It is mainly yam cooked with ingredients and the resulting dish contain some soupy liquid . It is not cooked with vegetables but it is always nice to add a little to give some green colour to the meal.
Ingredients
White yam
Red palm oil
Pepper
Smoked fish (Mackerel)
Stock cubes
Salt
Ground crayfish
Onion
Fresh green vegetable (e.g pumpkin, parsley, scent leaf (or green amaranth)
How it is made
Peel, and cut the yam into medium sizes. Wash the yam and place in a pot. Wash and cut onions into tiny pieces. Grind, or blend the chili pepper. If you are using dry fish, soak it and then remove the bones. Set these aside.
Pour enough water to cover the yam pieces and start cooking at medium to high heat. If you are using dry fish, add it to the boiling yam. When the yam is boiling, add the onions, grinded crayfish, pepper, stock cubes, palm oil and the smoked fish.
Cook the yam until it’s done
Add salt and stir well.
Cook at high heat for about 5 minutes.
Add the green vegetable, stir and leave to stand for about 5 minutes then serve.
Yam porridge can also be served with fried plantain.
Health Benefits
YAM has a high percentage of carbohydrate which makes it a good source of energy. The presence of fiber in yam aids in digestion and also prevents constipation. It also suppresses the side effect of weight gain and diabetes.
The vitamins in yam give it an edge over other foods that do not have it. Though some of the vitamins are of little quantity, they are beneficial to health. The presence of Vitamin C provides the body with the necessary things needed to fight against some disease. Vitamin C also helps to softten the skin and improves hair texture due to the collagen it contains.
Vitamin B complex, which is also in yam, provides the body with necessary nutrients for bodybuilding and also makes us healthy. Vitamin A is good for bright eyes and improves vision. It also helps to improve the function of the brain and reduce inflammation.
Yam will provides the body with iron, which aid blood formation, and prevents clotting, potassium, which maintain normal blood pressure and other various minerals that are good for the body.
Yam is essentially good for pregnant women as it contains many nutritional elements that are good for babies and the mother as well. It contains foliate which is necessary for brain and the central nervous system. It also contains iron)that relieves pregnant women from early morning sickness such as nausea and vomiting, as well as keeping the bones strong, which is important for fetus development. Frequent consumption of yam during pregnancy also helps to prevent birth defect, which is caused by lack of red blood cells. The calcium content is essentially good for pregnant women as it helps to develop the fetus.
Yam contains the highest amount of potassium nutrient alongside with folate among other foods, which helps to lower hypertension and modify the blood vessel for proper blood flows so therefore it is advice that daily consumption of yam is good to the body as it controls the heart rate.
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