YAM FLOUR/ELUBO- The making

Think of Yam flour/elubo, think of the Yorubas of the Western part of Nigeria. In a typical Yoruba family, the ‘daily bread’ is incomplete without a mound of amala( a ready-to-eat yam flour). I relish this cuisine and I always go nostalgic whenever I am opportune to savour this popular African/Nigeria/Yoruba staple. Yes, i remember my days in the secondary school. I can’t wait to give you a step by step guide on how to make your own yam flour and join the amala( click here for how to prepare amala) relishing club… Lol. Here we go!

Yam Flour/Elubo: Things you will need:

1. a tuber of yam
2. grater
3. drier (optional)
4. mill
5. knife

    

• Wash and peel the yam: wash the sands off the yam. Wash very well before you start peeling. This is very important. Also, peel and cut off every bad part and stains on the yam.

• Slice the peeled yam into ‘gratable’ sizes: I like having it sliced into 5-6 inches long, this helps me have a better grip of the yam when grating it (see picture). Then grate. NB: grate carefully, your fingers could be grated as well but the sliced shape would do a lot more to minimize the possibility.

    

• Drying: You may sun dry or use a drier. If you choose to sun dry, you will need to dry it for up to 5-7 days to get it crispy dry. Using a drier is a better option as it dries the grated yam instantly, which is more time effective.

• Milling: when the grated yam is of crisp texture, take it to the mill (grinding). Then, sieve it  and there you are- our elubo is ready! Yam flour can last for 2 or more years. Preserve/store it in a clean dry container or polythene bag.

   

See my next post on “how to prepare amala”  

My wonderful readers, add more steps if I missed any. Especially, on how to make the amala whitish. The above steps will give us the black colour amala but of course, I am aware that amala is typically of black colour but I wonder how ‘Poundo yam’ turns out white. Yea, if you have the secret, please share with us but I will make a practical research and in no distant time, you will get the tips.

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