Igname = Indiam Yam

The day before yesterday, my landlord gave me two ignames. He said that although I have eaten ignames, I need to experience cooking them. He then said that I should take pictures of the ignames and share them with my friends and family in the United States. So while I am waiting for them to cook, I thought I would take the time to explain yams to you!

Ignames are a bit weird looking. They are a type of starch – I would say they are in the potato/yam family because when I looked up the English translation I found igname = Indian yam. (Even the name here sounds like “yam”). Their skin looks like tree bark. They are a pretty good size (see pic) but he told me that these are small in comparison to how big they can grow. He said that they can easily grow to the size of one’s thigh!

To prepare ignames, you start by skinning them (much as you would skin a potato). Once the skin is removed, you are left with the whitish starch part of the vegetable which has a slippery layer on top which reminds you of the “slime” from okra. You then cut the yams into chunks and place them in salted water. You let them boil for 30 minutes or so and after that …ta-dah! Lovely yams to eat! They taste much like boiled potatoes (but lighter and better) and go well with meat and sauce. For lunch, I will be eating ignames with a tomato-chicken-onion-garlic sauce I made. Tonight for dinner, I will have igname with smoked sheep! Oh my gosh. I will leave smoked sheep for another discussion but talk about good eating!!