Ji Abubo (Nigerian Yam and Vegetable Sauce)
Ji abubo is a yam dish from southeastern Nigeria, served with a sauce of pounded greens. The vegetables are boiled alongside the yam, then crushed with fresh habanero in a mortar and loosened with palm oil. Ogiri, a fermented seasoning, gives the sauce its deep savory edge. Crayfish, dryfish, shaki and ponmo are optional additions, so the dish works plain or richer.
Instructions
Rinse the pumpkin leaves and ukpaka under running water. Tie them into small bundles with string so they are easy to lift out of the pot later.
Put the yam pieces, the pumpkin leaves and the ukpaka into a pot and cover them with water. Cook until the leafy vegetables are soft.
Lift the vegetable bundles out of the pot and set them aside. Leave the yam to keep cooking until a knife slides into it easily.
Pound the habanero in a mortar until smooth. Add the cooked ukpaka and pumpkin leaves and keep pounding until the mixture is smooth, then stir in palm oil until the sauce is as loose or thick as you like.
Season the paste with salt and ogiri to taste, and work it with the pestle until it is smooth again. Stir in any of the optional crayfish, dryfish, shaki or ponmo if you are using them.
Drain the yam and serve it hot, with the pounded sauce alongside.
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