Potato Pottage/Porridge: How to Cook the Tastiest Potato Porridge

Potato Porridge/Pottage

If you like Yam Porridge, you will enjoy its second in command, the Potato Porridge or Potato Pottage whichever one you prefer to call it. 😀

Nigerian Potato Porridge Ingredients

Watch the video below to see the ingredients.

I prefer Irish potatoes to sweet potatoes for this recipe. Sweet potatoes have what I call a strange sweetness that does not work well with red palm oil. Some people may not mind it though.
If you live in a place where Irish potatoes are labelled according to their culinary uses, buy the ones that are labelled as “best for boiling”, they will give you the best thickening you need for the porridge.
If you do not have red palm oil, use tomato stew to add colour to Potato Porridge.
The fresh paprika is just a small quantity, see the video below.
For leafy greens you can use: ugu, green amaranth, spinach, kale and for some special flavour, use scent leaves.
If you don’t have black pepper, use atarodo or cayenne pepper, any spicy pepper really.
If you don’t have homemade stock, add seasoning cubes. One small seasoning cube is enough for the quantity of potatoes we are using here.

Peel the potatoes and cut into medium cubes like you would cut yam when preparing Yam Porridge. Rinse and set aside.
Chop the onion and paprika.
Rinse and tear up your leafy greens.
Grind the crayfish.

Put the cubes of potatoes into a pot.
Add the pork bits if using it, black pepper, crayfish, some of the onions, the homemade stock (or seasoning cubes), palm oil and pour water to just under the level of the potatoes. The quantity of water you add is very important, please see the video below for demo.
Cover the pot and start cooking on high heat.
Keep an eye on it because you need to catch it as soon as the potatoes are done but not too soft. You know the potatoes are done when you can drive a knife into it without resistance.
When that happens, you will also notice that the liquid in the pot is thickening, add the remaining onions, the chopped paprika and whatever leafy vegetable you are using.
Cover the pot and continue cooking. Once the vegetable wilts, this should take at most 30 seconds, mix everything very well with a spatula.
Taste for salt and add if necessary. I say if necessary because pork bits contain a lot of salt, seasoning cubes contain salt, crayfish has a salty taste. So you may not need more salt if you are using all these ingredients.
Once everything is well combined, it is done!

Serve it for lunch or dinner. Some people can eat this for breakfast too. It’s an easy and quick meal to prepare.