On a cold, rainy evening in Kumasi, few meals feel as comforting as a bowl of mpotompoto. The thick yam pottage, coloured orange-red by palm oil and flavoured with onions, pepper and smoked fish, is cooked in one pot and eaten with a spoon. It is simple, filling and cheap, made with ingredients found in most Ghanaian kitchens. Mpotompoto is home food rather than restaurant food, and many Ghanaians associate it with childhood and their grandmothers’ cooking.
The name, yam and palm oil
Mpotompoto describes the soft, mushy texture of the dish. It is often called yam pottage or yam porridge in English. The dish is usually made with white yam, peeled and cut into chunks. Some cooks use cocoyam or plantain as well. Palm oil gives the dish its colour and rich taste. Onions are fried in the oil before other ingredients are added.
Fresh tomatoes or tomato paste and ground pepper go into the pot to build the sauce. Smoked fish, salted fish known as koobi, or dried herrings add a salty, smoky flavour.
Cooking, greens and regional versions
The yam is boiled in the sauce until soft, then partly mashed so the pottage becomes thick, with some pieces left whole. Some cooks stir in kontomire, the leaves of the cocoyam plant, or spinach near the end. Boiled eggs are sometimes added on top for extra protein. The dish is common among Akan groups, and each family has its own way of making it.
In Nigeria, a similar dish called asaro or yam porridge is popular, especially among the Yoruba. Because yam is filling and the other ingredients are inexpensive, mpotompoto is a budget meal for large families.
Rainy days, leftovers and the sick
Many people crave it during the rainy season, when a warm, heavy meal feels right. Mpotompoto thickens as it cools and is often reheated the next morning. Mpotompoto is usually eaten on its own, from a bowl, with a spoon. Some people add a side of avocado or a sprinkle of extra pepper, and a few like it with fried ripe plantain for sweetness.
Because it is soft and easy to eat, many mothers cook it for children or relatives who are recovering from illness. Mpotompoto rarely appears on restaurant menus in Accra. Most people who love it learned to eat it at home, often from the same pot as their brothers and sisters.