This incredible sweet potato recipe is enough to make everyone fall in love! This is made with mashed boiled sweet potatoes, spicy tomato- pepper base, onion and a range of aromatic spices to give you a flavourful and downright delicious pot of GOODNESS!!
A follower on Instagram asked me if Nigerians put meat and crayfish in everything and I was shocked. Nigerian food has range and here is one of my favourites. It is perfect for lazy chefs and busy bees, meat lovers and vegetarians, looking to make something quick and simple. The best part is that it is adaptable and SUPER cheap!
Sweet potato porridge
Traditional Nigerian porridge uses palm oil, dry fish, crayfish and a lot of ingredients that aren’t readily available to us in the diaspora. Sometimes when they are they cost us a figurative fortune. Last week I went to the African store because I wanted to buy one small dry catfish, yam and a few other ingredient for yam porridge. The man told me that my bill was $75 and I was shooketh!
You might have been here too!
I had to come up with an inexpensive version that wouldn’t mock your budget. THE BEST PART IS it is authentically Nigerian. I applied the basic cooking principles to bring you an entirely new Nigerian dish that you will LOVE!! The inspiration for this dish is Asaro and Jollof.
Ingredients you will need
- Sweet potatoes
- Vegetable oil or any one of your choice
- Red Bell peppers
- tomatoes
- onion
- ginger garlic paste
- Spices!
How do you make Sweet potato recipe
Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté the onion over medium heat till translucent then add ginger garlic paste and your tomatoe pepper blend. Let it cook till the base reduces and becomes very fragrant.
Add spices and cook for a few more minutes stirring occasionally. Next add the sweet potatoes and some water to the pot and bring to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15- 20 minutes till the sweet potatoes are tender. You can mash a few with a wooden spoon to thicken the sauce or you can let it be.
Lastly add chopped spinach and season to taste. Serve with a good source of protein like oven grilled fish or chicken if you wish.
I have an easy video tutorial here!
Quick tips
- Protein– this meal is vegetarian by nature but feel free to add shredded chicken, meat, fish or any protein of choice
- Water content-Sweet potatoes cook really fast so you can reduce the amount of water if you want a dry sweet potatoe porridge
- Base-you can blend the onion with the tomatoes and pepper to cut the cooking time
- Use low- medium heat– this just prevents burning
How to preserve
You can preserve your porridge by storing it in plastic bowl in your fridge for a week or freezing it for a month. If frozen allow it to defrost naturally for a few hours. Note that you will need to add a little water when reheating it
Try this Sweet potato porridge recipe! Satisfy your tummy with something NEW, UNIQUE and EXPLOSIVE!
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More Nigerian recipes
Craving more bold spices and Nigerian favourites? Here are some tasty recipes for you to try out…
Sweet potato porridge
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or any oil of choice
- 1 tbsp ginger- garlic paste
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 scotch bonnet
- 5 tomatoes
- 2 red bell peppers
- 6 large sweet potatoes
- 3 cups water
- spinach
Spices
- salt
- black pepper
- paprika
- curry
- oregano
- stock cubes or bullion
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Add 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste and blended tomatoe-peppers and cook for 5 minutes or till the base reduces and darkens
- Season with spices and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Next, add peeled sweet potatoes and water to the pot and simmer for 15-20 minutes until sweet potatoes are soft
- Smash a few potatoes for a thicker porridge. Add chopped spinach and season to taste. Serve with protein source
