Yamarita

Name: Yamarita
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: West African
Ingredients: 2 lbs white yam, peeled, sliced; 4 large eggs, whisked; 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; 1 tsp chili powder; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1 tsp salt; 1 cup vegetable oil

Crispy egg-coated fried yam slices boiled until tender then dipped in seasoned flour and whisked egg before pan frying. Served hot with a spicy sauce or pepper sauce.

40 minEasyServes 4380 cal/serving

West AfricanLunchStovetopVegetarianHigh FiberHalal-friendlyDairy-FreeNut-FreeSoy-FreePork-FreeAlcohol-FreeLow-Sodium

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

2 lbs white yam, peeled, sliced
4 large eggs, whisked
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil

Instructions

1

Place 2 lbs peeled, sliced white yam in a pot, cover with water, add half of the 1 tsp salt, and boil for 8-10 minutes until slightly tender.
2

Drain the boiled yam and allow slices to cool for 5 minutes.
3

In a shallow dish, combine 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and remaining 1 tsp salt.
4

In a separate bowl, whisk the 4 whisked large eggs.
5

Dredge each slab of yam in the flour mixture, then dip thoroughly into the eggs.
6

Heat 1 cup vegetable oil in a deep skillet over medium heat.
7

Fry the coated yam slices for 3-4 minutes per side until crisp and golden brown, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Keep this recipe

Prints the ingredients and method only.

The West African Kitchen 30 recipes from this kitchen in one printable PDF. $5, no account.

About Yamarita

Also called: egg-coated yam, yam in egg, fried yam with egg

Yamarita is a Nigerian dish of yam slices that are parboiled, coated in seasoned flour and beaten egg, then fried until golden. The egg coating sets into a soft crust around the yam, which stays fluffy inside. It is eaten as breakfast, a snack, or a light lunch, usually with a pepper sauce. How to make yamarita with flour and egg comes down to order: boil, dry, flour, egg, fry. The flour (seasoned here with chili powder, garlic powder and salt) gives the egg something to cling to, so the coating stays on in the oil instead of sliding off.

Use white yam (true yam, often sold as African yam or puna yam), not the orange sweet potatoes sold as yams in US stores. White yam is starchy and dry, which is what lets the slices hold their shape when boiled and fried. Cut the yam into even slabs or thick fingers before boiling so they cook at the same rate.

Serving and keeping

Serve hot with pepper sauce, ata dindin, or a tomato stew. Best eaten fresh; leftovers reheat in a hot oven or air fryer for 5 minutes to recrisp.

Variations

Double-dipped

Dip the floured, egged slices back into the flour and egg a second time for a thicker crust.

With onion and pepper in the egg

Whisk finely chopped onion, scotch bonnet and a pinch of seasoning cube into the eggs before dipping.

Plantain or potato

Use the same method on firm ripe plantain or parboiled potato slices.

If it goes wrong

Yam falls apart

It was boiled too long. Stop at 8 to 10 minutes, when a knife meets slight resistance, and let the slices cool and dry for 5 minutes before coating.

Coating slides off in the oil

Dry the boiled yam, flour it fully, then egg it, in that order (step 5). Wet yam does not hold the flour.

Outside browns before the inside is hot

Lower the heat to medium. The yam is already cooked, so the fry only needs to set and brown the coating.

Greasy slices

Let the oil heat fully before frying and do not crowd the skillet; drain on paper towels as in step 7.

Substitutions

white yam: puna yam or yellow yam; potatoes in a pinch. Potatoes work but are waxier and less fluffy.
all-purpose flour: cornstarch. A thinner, crisper coating.
chili powder: ground cayenne or dried pepper flakes. Cayenne is hotter; use half.

Questions

What is Yamarita?

Crispy egg-coated fried yam slices boiled until tender then dipped in seasoned flour and whisked egg before pan frying. Served hot with a spicy sauce or pepper sauce. This reference files it under West African lunch: made on the stovetop, rated easy and about 40 minutes start to finish.

Is Yamarita spicy?

Only mildly. The heat in Yamarita comes from 1 tsp chili powder. For a milder plate, halve the chili powder; nothing else in the method changes. For more, add it at the table rather than in the pot, so everyone sets their own level.

Can I make Yamarita gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in Yamarita is 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Swap the flour for a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking blend (where it only thickens a sauce, half as much cornstarch also works). Everything else proceeds as written.

Is Yamarita vegan?

No, though it is vegetarian. What keeps it from vegan is 4 large eggs, whisked. For fully plant-based entries, see the vegan lunch collection.

Does Yamarita contain eggs?

Yes: 4 large eggs, whisked. The full allergen list for this entry is gluten and eggs. Packaged ingredients vary by brand, so check labels if the allergy is serious.

How do I store and reheat Yamarita?

Refrigerate what is left of Yamarita within two hours and eat it within three days. Reheat uncovered in a 400 F oven (or an air fryer) for a few minutes to bring the crust back; the microwave softens it.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,544 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.