Red Cocoyam pottage

About this time of the year when new yam is out,  is when I enjoy Red Cocoyam Pottage. These coco yam are  just splendid in taste as we wait for the yams to get dry and tasty.

I have sighted new yams which means in the next few months, we have to eat bland tasting yams in Nigeria. There are few varieties though that are tasty but their presence in the market is short lived, talking about Efuru from the southwest and Onitsha yams from the east. For some reason these varieties only last for about three months before they disappear from the market.

Lagos has this benefit of offering shopping at your closest range. ‘Sunday market’ or ‘Bush market’ as they are called is where I bought my Cocoyam for this meal . These ‘markets are around our neighborhoods. 200 naira worth of Cocoyam was enough to serve 4 guests that stopped by at the point I finished cooking. So basically with 500 naira and some basic ingredients in your kitchen like pepper, seasoning, ground crayfish ,you have a meal that is tasty, nutritious and a nice variety to break the rice monotony.
My guests cleaned out their plate and so did I .

Recipe for Red Cocoyam pottage?

Cocoyam ( 200 naira worth)
Smoked Fish ( hand ful)
Handful Smoked Shrimp
1 cooking spoon Tomato/ Pepper mix
2 pieces Tomato( chopped)
1/2 Onion ( chopped )
1tbsp chopped Effirin (Scent leaf)
11/2 spoons Palm Oil
Crayfish seasoning to taste
Salt to taste
60 cl Water

Method
1, Peel the Cocoyam , wash and chop into desired shapes and place in a pot.
2, Add the water, tomato/ pepper mix, onion, seasoning , shrimp, fish, chopped tomato and bring to boil
3, Add the crayfish when Cocoyam starts to boil and stir with wooden spoon
4 , Taste for salt and add oil when the yam is cooked
5, Stir throughly to get a thick sauce .
6, Add the effirin/ Ntong / Nchawun last and cook for just a minute and your pottage is ready.
7, Serve hot as the Cocoyam tends to harden when cold.

Cooking tip:
1,A lot of fans who do not reside in Nigeria may not get Effirin to buy outside Nigeria. You may want to try fresh Basil instead.
2, Wooden cooking spoon helps to get your pottage sauce to thicken on time