Pounded Yam is a popular food among the Yoruba tribe in Southwestern Nigeria. It is particularly a signature food for People who are from Ekiti State and some parts of Osun State, like Ila Orangun and Ilesa. It is one of the many swallow foods found in this part of the country.

To those living in or are indigenes of Ekiti State and other areas mentioned above. Preparing and consuming pounded yam comes quite easy for them, almost of no cost in terms of efforts. To those in other parts of Yorubaland, however, it is always a big deal to prepare and consume the food. Hence, pounded yam is usually reserved for celebrations and special occassions. While every Tom, dick, and Harry is usually equipped with pounding skills in areas where the food is their signatured food, only very few people can pound in other areas.

Pounded yam, as it can be easily discerned from its name, is made from yam. While there are different species and varieties of yam, not all of them can be utilized in the preparation of the Dish. The quality and aesthetics of the final product also depend on the variety of yam that is used. Scientifically, the different species of yam include:

• White Yam, botanically known as Dioscorea rotundata
• Yellow yam, botanically known as D. cayennensis
• Chinese yam, botanically known as D. polystachya
• Water yam, botanically known as D. alata

• Bitter yam, D. esculenta and D. dumentorum

While the water yam is utilized in the preparation of another food which is also popular in a particular town in the Southwestern part of Nigeria, the Chinese yam is not so common in Nigeria. The only two yams utilized in pounding yam is the white yam and the yellow yam. Even at that, some varieties of these species come out poorly when used to prepare pounded yam.

Preparation

After getting a suitable yam, it is peeled and washed thoroughly to remove all traces of sand or mud. Thereafter, the tuber is cut into smaller pieces and carefully arranged in a pot. A measured amount of water is added into the pot before it is placed on fire for the yam to boil And soften.

^{The mortal and the pestle locally used in pounding yam. Machines are now available to automate the process}

The pounding of the softened yam is done in a mortal, although, technological advancement has now made it such that there is now a pounding machine. However, the difference in the quality of a pounded yam pounded by a skillful pounder and that of a machine is usually glaring with the former being of higher quality.

The actual pounding is done by the pestle. The boiled yam is transferred into the mortal and the mortal is used to pound it repeatedly until a smooth dough is achieved. Water is added in between pounding to ease the process and improve the quality of the final product.

^{The final product, ready to be served}
Pounded yam is best served with egusi soup, although some people prefer to eat theirs with vegetable soup. Serving can be done in normal plates if they are to be consumed immediately. Otherwise, they are best served and wrapped in Thaumatococcus danielli leaves. Most people use nylon in the absence of leaves.

Even though the food generally has a short shelf life, pounded yams wrapped in T, danielli leaves are known to have longer shelf lives than those wrapped in nylon. Those in nylon will hardly spend more than 3 to 5 hours before the organoleptic quality becomes compromised while those wrapped in leaves can spend a few hours more with their integrity still intact.

^{Pounded yam served with egusi soup}