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Tatase Yam

Also known as Tatase Yam (Yam with Bell Pepper Sauce)

Tatase Yam is a beloved Yoruba weekend breakfast and brunch dish — boiled white yam served alongside a richly flavoured sauce made primarily from Tatashe (red bell pepper) fried with palm oil, assorted fish, crayfish and spices. The Tatashe sauce has a distinctly sweeter, less fiery character than the standard Ata Dindin pepper sauce because the Tatashe (red bell pepper) is less hot than Atarodo.

Tatase Yam, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • Half a big white yam tuber, peeled and cut into chunks
  • Salt for boiling FOR THE TATASE SAUCE:
  • 4 big Tatashe (red bell peppers), blended
  • 2 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended — adjust to taste
  • 1 big onion, sliced
  • 3 cooking spoons of palm oil
  • 2 big handfuls of smoked fish (panla), soaked and deboned
  • 1 big handful of stockfish, soaked
  • 3 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. 01

    Boiling the Yam. Boil yam chunks in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes until completely tender. Drain and keep warm.

  2. 02

    Frying the Tatase Sauce. Heat 3 cooking spoons of palm oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add sliced onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add the blended Tatashe and Atarodo mixture. Fry vigorously for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring regularly. The Tatashe sauce needs less cooking time than pure tomato sauce because bell peppers have less water. The sauce is ready when it is bright orange-red, thick, fragrant and the oil is clearly floating on top.

  3. 03

    Building the Sauce. Add the smoked fish, stockfish, ground crayfish, seasoning cubes and salt. Stir well and cook for 8 more minutes on medium heat until the fish is fully incorporated and the sauce is rich and glossy.

  4. 04

    Serving. Arrange the hot boiled yam on a plate. Spoon the hot Tatase sauce generously alongside and over the yam. Serve immediately.

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