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    Home » Yam Recipes » Fried yam (Dundun) and fried sauce

    Published: Apr 10, 2015 · Modified: Aug 8, 2019 by Ajoke

    Fried yam (Dundun) and fried sauce

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Fried yam is a popular street snack in Nigeria, it is commonly served with fried plantain and fried sauce. I have made a special sauce just for you and I am sure you would love it

    I fried yam the other day and I am still covering my eyes till date. Is it safe to call me a food blogger or am I still getting there? One thing I noticed since I started food blogging is that I want everything to be perfect. I don't want to plate like I'm serving in a cafeteria but like I'm being watched and my customers are paying a lot to see my food pictures as well as my recipes.

    fried yam and plantain in a basket.

    I made this fried yam recently and it was almost perfect until I got a phone call from someone I couldn't refuse to talk to. Anyway, whilst on the phone, I couldn't attend to my fried yam and half of it was overdone which is not bad if you ask me but as a professional, that wasn't good enough. I managed to save the other half but I gave up on taking pictures and all. On my next attempt to blogging fried yam and my special ata didin, I recycled the oil I used to fry the first one but forgot to sieve the dirt out hence the spots on these pictures. Really in real life, we would recycle vegetable oil especially when it has just been used once so I thought why don't I just do it and be real.

    So today’s post is on how to fry yam and getting the street food feel. It is very easy but you will need to pay attention to it. I call my sauce special because it’s indeed special, it is very easy and the flavours do come through. The next time you have a guest, especially the ones you know hardly cooks but loves to eat, lol; wow them with this easy and evergreen fried yam recipe and see that the lord is good. Wink  

    overhead shot of fried yam and plantain with a side of hot chilli sauce on a white plate

    Ingredients for fried yam and plantain

    A tuber of yam or less (depending on the size of the people you are catering for)

    Salt

    Oil for frying

    Plantain

    water

    Ingredients for the fried sauce

    3-4 medium-size tomatoes, sliced

    1 bouillon cube

    1 large onion, chopped

    ½ cup palm oil

    Plantain

    1 tsp cayenne pepper

    1-2 tbsp ground crayfish

    How to fry yam

    Peel and cut yam into half, slice the halved yam into thin slices about 10-15mm thickness

    Rinse yam till water runs clean. Add enough water to cover and add salt to taste

    process of frying yam, from the peeling to cutting to size and soaking in water.

    Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add enough oil and heat till hot

    Carefully drop sliced yams to hot oil (please be really careful with hot oil) and reduce the heat

    After about 2 minutes, add a little bit of water to the yam being fried, it would foam on top, don't worry it will settle down in minutes.

    The trick at achieving a soft fried yam is by adding water to the oil, as odd as this sound it is the best way to do it. If you have seen where the Iya onidundun as they are called fry their yams, you would know that at intervals, they add salted water to the frying yam. This is what makes it tasty and soft.

    The yam will soak up the water and the oil will remain for subsequent use.

    Pay attention to the yam if you don’t want to be left with golden dry yam

    Do a fork test on some of the sliced yams and if the fork pierces through, then it is ready to be strained out of oil.

    Repeat this process till you have exhausted the yam

    how to fry yam.

    See the difference between the two shades of yam...

    How to fry plantain.

    You can use the same oil you used for frying the yam to fry the plantain. heat oil till hot (I recommend you fry the plantain before frying the yam)

    using a sharp knife, cut both ends of the plantain, make an incision on the skin from top to bottom and peel the plantain.

    Slice the plantain diagonally to about half an inch.

    Season with salt if you want, I hardly do this

    Carefully add sliced plantain to the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown

    Remove plantain from the hot oil and drain on a kitchen towel. reserve to serve with fried yam

    How to make the sauce (My special sauce)

    Place a pan on medium heat, add palm oil and allow to heat for about 3-4 minutes

    Add chopped tomatoes and onions

    Followed by cayenne pepper if using, leave to cook for about 10 minutes

    the process in making tomato sauce with onion and chopped tomatoes. this will be chopped and cooked in palm oil.

    Add seasoning and salt to taste

    Add ground crayfish

    Continue to cook till palm oil floats on top of the sauce

    how to fry tomato sauce.

     Plate up your fried yam and enjoy

    If you want the street vibe to continue, serve on an old newspaper, cover it up and open after a minute or two.

    Other Nigerian Street Food You Should Try

    Akara

    Puff Puff

    Nigerian Buns

    Ewa Agonyin

    Chin Chin

    Dodo Ikire

    fried yam and plantain in a basket.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 2 votes

    Fried Yam (Dundun) and Fried Plantain

    Fried yam or fried yam chips is one of Nigeria's popular street snack. This recipe is popularly paired with fried plantain and fried sauce. It is very easy to make and super delicious.
    Prep Time25 minutes mins
    Cook Time30 minutes mins
    Total Time55 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Snack
    Cuisine: African, Nigerian
    Keyword: Fried Plantain, Fried yam, How to fry plantain, how to fry yam
    Servings: 4
    Author: Ajoke

    Ingredients

    Ingredients for fried yam and plantain

    • A tuber of yam or less depending on the size of the people you are catering for
    • Salt
    • Oil for frying
    • Plantain
    • Water

    Ingredients for the fried sauce

    • 3-4 medium size tomatoes sliced
    • 1 bouillon cube
    • 1 large onion chopped
    • ½ cup palm oil
    • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
    • 1-2 tbsp ground crayfish

    Instructions

    How to fry plantain.

    • You can use the same oil you used for frying the yam to fry the plantain. heat oil till hot (I recommend you fry the plantain before frying the yam)
    • using a sharp knife, cut both ends of the plantain, make an incision on the skin from top to bottom and peel the plantain.
    • Slice the plantain diagonally to about half an inch.
    • Season with salt if you want, I hardly do this
    • Carefully add sliced plantain to the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown
    • Remove plantain from the hot oil and drain on a kitchen towel. reserve to serve with fried yam

    How to Fry yam

    • Peel and cut yam into half, slice the halved yam into thin slices about 10-15mm thickness
    • Rinse yam till water runs clean. Add enough water to cover and add salt to taste
    • Place a frying pan on medium-high heat, add enough oil and heat till hot
    • Carefully drop sliced yams to hot oil (please be careful with hot oil and reduce the heat
    • After about 2 minutes, add a little bit of water to the yam being fried, it would foam on top, don’t worry it will settle down in minutes.
    • The trick at achieving a soft fried yam is by adding water to the oil, as odd as this sound it is the best way to do it. If you have seen where the Iya onidundun as they are called fry their yams, you would know that at intervals, they add salted water to the frying yam. This is what makes it tasty and soft.
    • The yam will soak up the water and the oil will remain for subsequent use.
      Pay attention to the yam if you don’t want to be left with golden dry yam
      Do a fork test on some of the sliced yams and if the fork pierces through, then it is ready to be taken out of the oil.
    • Repeat this process till you have exhausted the yam
    • Drain yam on kitchen towel

    How to make the fried sauce (My special sauce)

    • Place a pan on medium heat, add palm oil and allow to heat for about 3-4 minutes
    • Add chopped tomatoes and onions
    • Followed by cayenne pepper if using, leave to cook for about 10 minutes
    • Add bouillon cube and salt to taste, then add ground the crayfish. Stir to combine
    • Continue to cook till palm oil floats on top of the sauce
    • Plate up your fried yam and enjoy
    • If you want the street vibe to continue, serve on an old newspaper, cover it up and open after a minute or two.

    This fried yam and sauce recipe was updated with new photographs in May 2019. Here is one of the images I took originally for this recipe. Not bad eh!

    how to fry yam

    If you try my fried yam, fried plantain and sauce recipe, kindly leave feedback or #myactivekitchen on Instagram so I can see what you have been cooking. Thank you and see you on my next post

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jennifer says

      April 09, 2021 at 2:03 pm

      This is delicious can't wait to try mine, thanks for that adding of water while frying.

      Reply
    2. Gloria says

      August 16, 2020 at 8:01 pm

      5 stars

      5 stars
      You explains better

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        August 19, 2020 at 11:14 pm

        Thank you, Gloria

        Reply
    3. Paul-mark says

      January 26, 2019 at 8:21 am

      For the ata din din, are we to use blended tomatoes sauce? You didn't mention it or is the chopped tomatoes enough to make the stew?

      Reply
    4. Chuka says

      August 30, 2015 at 4:25 pm

      This is the real thing here. well done dear

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        October 30, 2015 at 12:11 am

        Thank you Chuka

        Reply
    5. silvia baby says

      April 12, 2015 at 6:43 pm

      this lady no go kill me with food oooo, see as this food they hungry me now, I beg jor for this food I must prepare it . 😀thanks babe.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        October 30, 2015 at 12:11 am

        Enter kitchen quick abeg. lol

        Reply
    6. Ownyee says

      April 11, 2015 at 6:08 pm

      Hmm. Abeg you're a food blogger joor! Palm oil and tomatoes. Sounds delish 😋

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        October 30, 2015 at 12:12 am

        Thanks babe

        Reply
    5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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    Hello, my name is Ajoke, and welcome to my food world,  I love to cook in my lively little kitchen. Join me in the adventure of cooking what we all call warm, hearty, and quick meals...

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    Hello, my name is Ajoke, and welcome to my food world,  I love to cook in my lively little kitchen. Join me in the adventure of cooking what we all call warm, hearty, and quick meals...

    More about me →

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