Pounded Yam & Efo Riro

Pounded yam and efo riro sits at the premium end of the swallow world — the Sunday-and-celebration plate rather than the everyday one. Pounded yam is smoother, whiter and more filling than eba or amala, and it is dearer because yam itself is dear, especially out of season. Traditionally it is real yam boiled and pounded in a mortar until silky; most Lagos kitchens now use instant yam flour (poundo) for the same result without the labour.

Efo riro is the soup that makes it a feast — a rich, oily vegetable soup of blended pepper and tomato fried in palm oil with leafy greens (efo shoko or ugu), locust bean (iru), assorted meat, stockfish and fish. It is a soup that rewards generosity: the more assorted protein and the better the palm-oil base, the more special it feels. Fry the pepper base down properly and add the greens late so they stay bright.

On value, this is a splurge dish and knows it. The yam and the loaded soup put it above the cheaper swallows, so it tends to appear when there is something to celebrate or feed guests well. You can economise with poundo instead of pounding and modest protein, but the point of pounded yam and efo riro is abundance — it is the plate you cook when you want the table to feel full.