Nigerian Sweet Potato Porridge
A thick savory Nigerian pottage of sweet potato simmered in red palm oil with a blended pepper base, smoked mackerel and ground crayfish, finished with greens. One pot, dinner in 45 minutes.
Servings 4 servings
Ingredients
For the Pepper Base
- 1 large red onion three quarters blended, one quarter diced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and chopped
- 1-2 scotch bonnet peppers or habanero
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
For the Porridge
- ⅓ cup red palm oil
- 2 ½ pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 ½-inch cubes
- 8 ounces smoked mackerel skin and bones removed, flaked
- 2 tablespoons ground crayfish
- 1 seasoning cube or 1 teaspoon bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 2 cups stock or water plus more as needed
- 3 cups chopped ugu or spinach fluted pumpkin leaf, or spinach
- 1 teaspoon salt to taste, added last
Instructions
Build the Base
- Blend three quarters of the red onion with the red bell pepper and scotch bonnet into a coarse paste with no added water. Dice the remaining onion.
- Heat the red palm oil in a heavy pot over medium heat for about 90 seconds, until it turns from thick red to clear orange. Do not let it smoke.
- Add the diced onion and cook 3 minutes, then add the blended pepper paste and fry 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and the raw smell disappears.
- Stir in the tomato paste, thyme and curry powder and fry another 3 minutes.
Simmer the Porridge
- Add the cubed sweet potatoes, flaked smoked mackerel, ground crayfish and seasoning cube, turning everything until the cubes are coated in the base.
- Add only 2 cups of stock or water. The liquid should sit below the top of the potatoes.
- Cover and simmer on low for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Add liquid a quarter cup at a time only if the pot tightens too much.
Finish
- Press about a third of the potato cubes against the side of the pot and stir them back through to thicken the sauce. Mash less for a chunky pot, more for a smooth one.
- Stir in the chopped ugu or spinach, cover, and take the pot off the heat for 2 minutes to wilt the greens.
- Taste, add salt only if needed, and serve hot.
Notes
- Palm oil: Bleach it 90 seconds at medium heat until it turns clear orange. Burnt palm oil is acrid and cannot be fixed.
- Liquid control: Start with 2 cups and add a quarter cup at a time. Sweet potato releases plenty of its own water.
- Texture: Mash a third of the cubes into the sauce. Less for chunky, more for smooth.
- Salt last: Seasoning cubes and ground crayfish are both salty.
- Substitutes: Habanero for scotch bonnet, spinach for ugu, smoked mackerel for dried stockfish.
- Storage: Airtight in the fridge up to 4 days, or freeze up to 2 months without the greens. Reheat low with a splash of stock.
- Not the sweet one: This is the savory Nigerian pottage, not the Jamaican coconut milk breakfast porridge.