Ingredients
Sweet potato
- 1.5 kgsweet potatoes
- white or orange fleshed
- water, for boiling
- 1 teaspoonsalt, optional
To serve
- black tea, sweetened
- or milk tea
- cooked beans
- a little salt
- avocado, in season
Directions
- Use a brush under running water. Do not peel them before boiling. Leave any small potatoes whole. Cut large ones in half or in thick pieces.
- Keep all the pieces roughly even. Put them all into a large pot. Add water to just barely cover them.
- Use as little water as you can. Too much water washes the flavour away. Add the salt if you are using it. Cooking them takes about half an hour.
- Bring the whole pot up to a boil. Cover the pot over with a lid. Give them about twenty-five minutes.
- Check them rather than trusting the clock. Drain them thoroughly in a colander. Let them steam dry for a few minutes.
- Set them in a steamer over boiling water. Give them about thirty-five minutes. Pile them into a bowl or onto a plate. Serve them whole or in thick pieces. The skin slips off easily while hot.
- Serve sweet black tea alongside. Serve cooked beans for a fuller meal. They keep two days refrigerated.
Technique
- Sweet potatoes can be left in the soil after maturing and dug up as the household needs them, which removes the need for a store and spreads the harvest across the year; for a smallholding that matters a great deal.
- White-fleshed varieties are the traditional ones, drier and starchier, while orange-fleshed ones are sweeter and carry far more vitamin A, which is why they have been promoted.
- Do not peel them before boiling, since the skin holds the potato together, stops it absorbing water and keeps the flavour in; it slips off easily afterwards.
Substitutions
- Steaming works better than boiling if you have the time, keeping them drier and sweeter.
- Either white or orange fleshed sweet potatoes can be used.
Variations
- They are eaten plain with tea at breakfast or with beans as a full meal.
- Leftovers are commonly fried in slices the next day.
- Avocado is eaten alongside them when it is in season.
History
Sweet potato is one of Burundi’s most-grown crops, valued because it yields on tiny hillside plots and stores in the ground.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ibijumba?
Ibijumba is a breakfast from Burundi: boiled sweet potatoes eaten plain with tea or with beans. Sweet potato is one of Burundi’s most-grown crops, valued because it yields on tiny hillside plots and stores in the ground.
How long does Ibijumba take to make?
Ibijumba takes 10 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Ibijumba?
Yes, within limits. Steaming works better than boiling if you have the time, keeping them drier and sweeter. Either white or orange fleshed sweet potatoes can be used.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ibijumba?
Use a brush under running water. Do not peel them before boiling. Leave any small potatoes whole. Cut large ones in half or in thick pieces.
