Yam Eto (Ghanaian Mashed Yams)

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Yam Eto (Ghanaian Mashed Yams)

Yam eto is a classic Ghanaian dish made of mashed yams and roasted peanuts. Eto is made with simple ingredients but has a great depth of flavour.

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Total Time30

Course: Main

Cuisine: African

Keyword: eto, Ghanaian food, mashed yams, oto, yams

Servings: people

Calories: 453kcal

Author: Mavis K.

Ingredients

500 g white yams
¼ cup dry roasted peanuts (plus more for garnishing)
1 medium scotch bonnet pepper
½ medium onion (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
¼ cup palm, canola, or olive oil
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp turmeric
1½ tsp salt (divided)
1 tsp black pepper
2 stalks green onions (chopped; plus more for garnishing)
½ tsp dried thyme
2 hard boiled eggs
1 avocado (pitted and chopped)

Instructions

Peel and chop the yams into smaller pieces. Wash the yams and place them in a medium pot. Add water to the pot until it covers the yams as well as the Scotch bonnet pepper (leave whole) and 1 teaspoon of the salt to the yams.
Cover the pot and place it on the stove. Bring the water to a boil. Remove the scotch bonnet pepper from the pot and set aside once the water starts to boil.
Let the yams boil until they're cooked, about 7-8 minutes. To test that the yams are done, take one out of the pot and poke it with a fork. The fork should easily pierce through the yam and break it apart. Be careful to not over cook the yams as they will turn mushy.
Remove the pot from the stove, strain the water from the yams and let the yams cool down until they're safe to handle.
While the yams are cooking, put the chopped onions in the apotoyewa (asanka) and use the eta to mash the onions into a puree. Add the peanuts and scotch bonnet pepper to the onions and use the eta to mash them into a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan on low-medium heat. Sauté the garlic in the oil. Add the turmeric, paprika, thyme, salt, and black pepper to the oil and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Stir the spices with a spoon as they cook in the oil.
Add the green onions to the oil and cook for another 30 seconds or until they're slightly softened; stir the contents as they cook.
Remove the pot from the stove and let the contents cool down until safe to handle.
Add the yams to the peanut mixture and use the eta to mash the yams; you can mash the yams as smoothly as you want.
Pour the spiced oil all over the yam mixture. Mix and mash the oil with the yams into a smooth, reddish yellow mash using the eta and a spoon.
Garnish the eto with some roasted peanuts and green onions. Eto is also typically served with avocados and hard boiled eggs. You can also serve it with a bit of shito (Ghanaian black pepper sauce).

Notes

If you don’t have an apotoyewa and eta, you can do the following:

Use a food processor to puree the onions, scotch bonnet pepper, and peanuts.
Use a potato masher to mash the yams while they're in the pot they were cooked in. Add the peanut mixture and the spiced oil to the yams and mash everything together.

Nutrition