Yam balls Recipe
Yam ball is another homemade and street snacks loved by Nigerians, it is also very popular in Ghana and other parts of Africa too. It is delicious and makes perfect snacks for any time of the day. Fluffy mashed yam moulded into balls with other deliciousness and covered in breadcrumbs before deep-fried until golden and crunchy on the outside.
Servings: 12 yam balls
Ingredients
- A small tuber of puna yam about 1kg African yam
- 1 caned Sardine 90g drained
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon hot sauce or use according to preference
- a few spring onions (about 3 tablespoons) chopped (optional)
- Pinch of chilli flakes optional
- 1 teaspoon ground garlic optional
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon Dried or fresh parsley
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 cups dried breadcrumbs or more as needed
- 3 tablespoons butter softened
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Peel the yam and cut into small chunks, rinse till clean, add to a pan, add enough water to cover it. Add salt to taste and bring to boil until soft and tender
- While you are waiting on the yam to boil, prep the other ingredients
- Separate the egg yolk from white (put in a separate bowl). Drain the oil from the sardine if using sardines in sunflower
- Check on the yam, once it is done, drain the water, add butter and mash till smooth. (I don’t recommend using blender or food processor for this part as it makes the yam stretchy and that is not what you want)
- Add the parsley, chopped spring onions, hot sauce and any other dry ingredients you will be using to the mashed yam, followed by the sardine and mix together till well combined (you can use your hand to mix if you want) check for salt and seasoning and adjust accordingly
- Lastly, add the yolks to the mashed yam and mix to combine. Whisk the reserved egg white till well combined.
- Place a shallow pan on medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil and heat until hot. Test the oil to be sure it’s hot enough. Add a tiny drop of the mashed yam or egg white and if it floats to the top then the oil is ready to use.
- Mould the mashed yam to small balls, dip into the whisked egg white and then into the bread crumbs. Place on a clean plate, repeat this process till you have exhausted the mashed yam
- Drop the yam balls into the hot oil carefully, do not overcrowd the oil and fry until golden brown. Place on a kitchen towel to drain oil.
- Repeat process for all the yam balls. Serve immediately or allow to cool. You can have it with salad, hot sauce or just on its own.