Mpotompoto, sometimes called nyoma, is the pot every Ghanaian grandmother reaches for when someone is small, sick, or simply hungry. Yam or cocoyam is cooked down in plenty of seasoned broth into a gentle porridge, soft enough to wean a baby on yet flavorful enough to be a quick supper for the whole household.
Spoon-soft and warming, it tastes of sweet yam mellowed by red palm oil and a savory tomato broth with a low hum of chili. The half-mashed chunks give it body while the looser parts turn almost creamy, smoky fish threading through to make it feel like a hug in a bowl.
Long simmering gelatinizes and bursts the yam's starch so it partly dissolves, thickening its own broth, while mashing some pieces by hand controls the porridge's body without any added thickener.
Variations
made with yam, cocoyam or plantain, with fish or meat, thinner as a porridge or thicker as a mash
On the Palate
Where Mpotompoto (Yam Porridge) Ghanaian sits in the Ghanaian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 30 min active
- 16 min
Peel and cut yam or cocoyam into chunks.
- 25 min
Heat red palm oil and fry chopped onion until soft.
- 36 min
Add blended tomatoes, chili and ginger and cook into a fragrant base.
- 43 min
Add the yam chunks and enough water to nearly cover.
- 53 min
Stir in smoked or dried fish and season with salt and a stock cube.
- 612 min
Simmer until the yam is tender and some pieces begin to break down.
- 73 min
Mash part of the yam against the pot to thicken into a porridge.
- 82 min
Stir well and serve hot in bowls.
