Irresistible soft yam balls with tuna, these tuna yam balls disappear quickly right out of the oil.
From my frustrations with yam balls and the hot oil leading to this baked version, I had admitted the fante frying genes had passed over me. (Fante women are noted to be good at frying). Oh! It’s been a nightmare. Soggy oil yam balls, yam balls falling apart whiles in the hot oil, few tears. Now I can say finally oooo… I have arrived at the perfect way of making yam balls.
So
Presenting, the perfect yam balls plus tips for success. It happened that this girl likes tuna alot so it’s tuna yam balls today with tips for success.
- The first thing to consider is the yam. The yam should be puna yam. Puna yam is tastier than the others. It should stick together when cooked. Other yams do work, but for great taste, puna is the way to go.
- Mash the yam whiles hot. Immediately the yam is cooked through and you drain off the water, mash the yam. This ensures everything is mashed and there aren’t any lumps of yam.
- Firm coating; there should be a firm coating around the yam balls before frying. I do flour, egg and breadcrumbs. For the final coating that is the bread crumbs, I make sure it’s really packed onto the yam balls.
- Rest the yam at each stage before frying. This is the most important. I learnt this from watching cooking for real by Sunny Anderson. After the yams are moulded into balls, rest it before coating with flour and bread crumbs, then finally rest them before frying. This helps the bread crumbs to better stick together and it’s prevent the balls from scattering and losing its shape once in the oil.
That’s all. I believe if you truly follow these tips, you will make perfect yam balls each time. Now here is the recipe for tuna yam balls.
Enjoy!
- 1 1/2 pound unpeeled puna yam
- salt as required
- 3 tablespoons butter/ margarine
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 1/2 bell pepper chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1-2 can(s) (140g) tuna in sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon grounded grains of paradise/ black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder paprika also works
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2cup/ 65g bread crumbs
- 1/4cup/ 30g pastry flour/ all purpose flour
- salt and grounded grains of paradise/ black pepper to season
- odourless oil for deep frying
- to serve: any hot sauce
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Peel the puna yam and cut into cubes. Smaller cubes cooks faster. Rinse well, put into a saucepan, add salt to taste, add enough water to cover the yams for boiling. Place the yams on fire to cook till tender or cooked through.
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Whiles the yam is cooking, put one tablespoon butter or margarine in another saucepan and place on fire. Add garlic, onions and bell pepper and sautee until just softened. Do not caramelise the onions. Turn off fire and set aside. Drain oil from tuna and set aside.
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Drain the yams and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Whiles still hot, add two tablespoons of butter or margarine and mash the yam making sure there are no lumps.
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Add the previously softened onions and bell pepper, drained tuna, one teaspoon grounded grains of paradise or black pepper, half teaspoon chili powder. Mix everything together. Taste for seasoning and salt.
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Add one large egg and mix together. Scoop two tablespoons of mashed yam and using both palms, mold and shape into balls. Place the yam balls on a tray and place in the fridge for 10 to 15 minutes to rest. (This firms up the yam balls and makes frying easier)
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Meanwhile, pour a quarter cup of flour into a plate, and half cup of bread crumbs into another plate. Season the flour and bread crumbs with a pinch of salt and grounded grains of paradise or black pepper or to taste. Beat the other egg in a bowl.
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Remove yam balls from the fridge, take each yam ball, place into the flour plate to coat, dust off excess, dip into the beaten egg until completely coated and finally place into the bread crumbs to coat making sure it is well coated in the bread crumbs.
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Rest the yam balls for about five minutes before frying. When ready to fry, heat oil in a deep fryer. Check the oil is hot by dipping a wooden spoon into the oil. If the oil bubbles around it, it is hot enough to start frying.
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Gently place each yam balls into the deep fryer. Fry till yam balls are golden. Remove from the oil and put the yam balls on a tissue paper lined plate to drain excess oil.
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Yam balls are best eaten warm, serve with any hot sauce of choice.
