Palm Oil Curry and Yam

Palm oil curry and yam is a take on a traditional palm oil stew eaten mostly in the southern part of Nigeria. Yam and stew or even yam and hot palm oil mixed with scotch bonnet or chilli peppers are thing. The simplest of foods that bring so much comfort and joy that one can’t help, but smile. Now this dish is a twist on the traditional with the introduction of coconut milk and a few extra spices. As simple hearty meal that can be enjoyed at any point in time, but particularly when the weather is cooler.

Easy to make and it’s filling

Let me repeat…this dish is easy to make and it is very filling. It’s just one of those dishes you can enjoy sitting on the sofa with some music playing in the background. The puna yam is a staple in West Africa, we eat it all kinds of way and we eat it a whole lot. Potatoes are a great substitute and rice is another. The thing is, is that this curry is versatile (curry is what I’m calling it) is versatile.

Play around with this palm oil curry

This palm oil curry recipe you can totally make your own. Change up the spices, add more or reduce the amount of heat. Add curry powder, or not! Add mushrooms or more vegetables if you like. Again this is a great base recipe for so many other recipes. The palm oil has its own flavouring to this recipe. The coconut milk adds a level of creaminess to the dish overall and the vegetable stock deepens the flavour, but you can replace this with water if you so choose.

As with all other recipes on this platform you will find that this palm oil curry recipe is;

• Plant-based
• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Soy free
• Easy to make
• Comfort food in a bowl
• Uses simple ingredients
• Doesn’t require any special equipment (#winning)

If you try out this recipe definitely let me know by tagging #PFFPlate on social media. It would be great to see all your interpretations of this recipe.

Print Recipe

Palm Oil Curry & Yam

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 15 mins Cooking Time: 15 mins 15 mins Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

¼ puna yam

1 red bell pepper

1 medium yellow onion

3 garlic cloves

1½ cups coconut milk

1 cup vegetable stock

3 tbsp unrefined red palm oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp smoked paprika

½ tbsp coconut nectar

1 tsp cumin 

1tsp sea salt

2 small habanero pepper (more if desired)

1 tbsp lemon juice (optional)

1 small bunch basil leaves

Garnish

1 stem spring onion

Instructions

• Peel and slice the yam, place it into a saucepan with water and boil until tender
• Cut the onion in half, cut one half into large pieces and then chop the second half 
• Cut ¾ of the bell pepper into pieces and these along with the large pieces of onion to a food processor and blend
• Finely slice the remaining quarter of bell pepper and set aside for garnishing
• Rough chop the fresh basil leaves and set aside
• Heat the palm oil in a saucepan or skillet on medium heat
• Add the chopped onions and stir until they become translucent, about 1 minute
• Add in the tomato paste and continue to stir everything for another minute
• Pour in the blended onion and peppers and stir for another 2 - 3 minutes, then add in the coconut milk, vegetable stock, salt, paprika, cumin, and coconut nectar, and stir through
• Drop in the whole habanero peppers, add the lemon juice and lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer for 7 - 8 minutes
• Add in the basil leaves, stir through and then remove the pan from the heat
• To plate, add yam slices to wide bowls, spoon the curry into serving bowls, garnish with the red bell pepper slices, and some chopped spring onion