Creativenonfiction #151 - Not That Easy

“Rukkie, allow mum to come and do it”, my sister, Omotola implored, holding my hands.

I hissed, “There's nothing there na, I have seen her do it countless times, so I know what I'm doing”.

“Hmm-hmmm, if you go and do rubbish, I am not there o”, she pouted while folding her arms.

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“What would you like to eat for dinner?”, my mum asked us one afternoon. Normally she would just decide and prepare something for us but sometimes she would like us to suggest what to eat.

“I want Pounded yam for dinner”, I exclaimed excitedly, jumping up from the chair in the process.

My mum turned to my sister and she also nodded. Of course she would. Pounded yam has always been our favorite swallow food and we always enjoy it with either Efo Riro(Vegetable Soup) or Egusi Soup (Melon Soup).

My mum then gave instructions for me to peel the yam by 5pm, boil it and also wash the mortar and pestle before she gets back.

When it was time to prepare it. I took a medium sized yam from the kitchen and took my time to peel it well. Then I proceeded to cut them into chunks before washing and adding them into a pot of water for cooking.

When the yam was ready for pounding, my mum was yet to come back from where she went. I waited a while but she was yet to show up, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and pound the yam myself.

I have seen her do it many times and I usually stay with her, helping her to add the yams into the mortar while she pounds it with the pestle. Mom pounds it so well, adding little hot water in the process till the mashed yams becomes very smooth.

“How hard could it be?”, I wondered. I knew that pounding yam required strength and I have always prided myself in being strong. I climb trees, lift heavy buckets of water on my head all on my own, so pounding yam shouldn't be that hard.

I took the pot containing the yam close to the mortar and pestle and beckoned on my sister to help me add the yams while I pounded it.

My sister implored me to wait for my mum as I have never done it before but I assured her that I knew what I was doing.

I held on to the pestle as my sister added the first yam. I lifted the pestle and pounded. “Ha! it's heavy o”, I said within me. But, I kept on pounding nonetheless while my sister kept on adding the yam.

A few pounds in and I was already getting tired. I told my sister to get me a handkerchief to clean the sweat forming on my forehead.

“Aaaah! this thing is not easy o”, I whispered but she heard it.

“Shebi I told you to wait for mom to come and do it”, my sister mocked but I gave her the bombastic side-eye.

I ignored her statement and continued pounding. My hands felt weak as I tried lifting the pestle again. I noticed some parts were lumpy and I added some hot water to try yam paste, hoping for it not to be too much but I got myself into another dilemma.

“How do I sort myself through this ocean of water in the mortar?”, I asked no one in particular. Then suddenly, I heard a voice close to me.

“What are you doing?”, I quickly turned to the voice which revealed to be my mum.

“What are you doing?” She asked again even though she could clearly see what I was doing. I scratched my head, looking for something to come up with but found none.

My mum got closer and looked into the mortar and saw the “pounded yam or should I say the watery yam”. She gave me a kind of suspicious laugh and told me to continue but I shook my head and begged her to take over from me.

She pitied me and collected the pestle. Then, I saw her swing into action. In no time, she salvaged my watery pounded yam and turned it into a smooth texture.

We set the table afterwards and ate a delicious pounded yam with Egusi Soup.

I thought my mum was going to scold me but she didn't. I think she was impressed that I tried it out. Even though it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

That was my first experience with pounded yam. Over time, I began to assist her often and do a little pounding here and there before I finally got the hang of it.

But now, I would say thank God for technology. Machines like processors and yam blenders have made pounding yam much easier.

Thank you all for reading.

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