Nagoti Dzogbo (Ewe Sweet Potato Breakfast Porridge)
A fast savory breakfast porridge from Eweland in southeastern Ghana. Sweet potato boiled in a little salted water, mashed in the pot, and finished with spiced red palm oil.
Servings 2 servings
Ingredients
Porridge
- 1 ¼ pounds sweet potatoes peeled, cut into 1 inch chunks
- ¾ cup water plus a splash more if needed
- ¾ teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 small onion thinly sliced, divided
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground dried chili or 1 fresh chili, finely chopped
To Finish
- 2 tablespoons zomi (spiced red palm oil) or plain red palm oil
- 1 fried egg, sliced avocado, or flaked smoked mackerel optional, to serve
Instructions
Cook and Mash
- Put the sweet potato chunks in a small saucepan with the water, salt and half the sliced onion. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a low simmer.
- Cook 12 to 15 minutes, until the sweet potato gives way completely under a fork. Add a splash of water if the pan runs dry.
- Uncover and mash everything directly in the pan with a fork or wooden spoon until thick and spoonable. Mash by hand, do not use a blender.
- Stir in the chili, taste, and add more salt as needed.
Finish with Zomi
- Warm the zomi in a small pan over low heat with the remaining sliced onion for 2 minutes, until the onion softens. Never let the oil smoke.
- Spoon the porridge into bowls and pour the oil and onion over the top without stirring it in. Serve with a fried egg, avocado or smoked fish if you like.
Notes
- Measure the water: ¾ cup for 1 ¼ pounds of sweet potato. The cooking water becomes the porridge, so it never gets drained.
- Zomi: spiced red palm oil. Infuse 1 cup of red palm oil over low heat with a sliced onion, 4 garlic cloves, 2 inches of ginger and 2 to 3 dried chilies for 15 minutes, then strain. Keeps 3 months.
- Palm oil substitute: 2 tablespoons neutral oil with 1 teaspoon sweet paprika and a pinch of cayenne. Close on color, not on flavor.
- Mash, do not blend: a blender turns this into paste.
- Not mpotompoto: mpotompoto is a longer simmered chunky pottage. This is a quick Ewe mash.
- Storage: fridge up to 3 days. Reheat with 2 tablespoons of hot water per serving and add fresh oil after warming.