Yam Flour
Yam flour — known in Yoruba as elubo — is the dark, earthy flour used to make amala, the soft swallow paired with ewedu and gbegiri in southwest Nigerian cooking. It's made by peeling, slicing, drying, and milling yam (and sometimes plantain or cassava). This guide covers types, how to cook it, and where to buy yam flour near you.
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Pure dried-yam flour, deep brown, makes the classic amala dudu.
Made from unripe plantain. Lighter color, slightly sweet — used for amala ogede, popular with diabetics.
White cassava amala (amala lafun). Brighter, more sour.
Ola Ola, Iya Foods, Praise, Tropiway. Sold in 24 oz, 1 lb, and 4 lb bags.
Ewedu (jute leaves), gbegiri (bean soup), and stew (obe ata). The classic 'abula' combo.
Boil water, lower heat, gradually whisk in elubo, stir continuously until smooth and stretchy (~8 min). Cover and steam 2–3 minutes.
Too soft? Add more flour. Too stiff? Add a splash of hot water and re-stir. Use a wooden spoon (omorogun) for best results.
Plantain elubo (amala ogede) has a lower glycemic load and is commonly recommended in Nigeria for people managing blood sugar.
Keep in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Refrigerate or freeze for long-term storage in humid climates.
Elubo. Specifically, elubo isu is yam flour, elubo ogede is plantain flour, and elubo paki is cassava flour — all used to make amala.
When yam slices are dried and milled, oxidation darkens the flour. Cooking it deepens the color further. Pure elubo isu produces the darkest, classic amala dudu.
African grocery stores — especially Nigerian-focused shops — stock multiple brands. Larger international markets in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, the Bronx, and Washington DC also carry it. See our African Grocery Stores Near Me directory.
Not exactly. Fufu flour is most commonly cassava (or plantain), produces a white-to-beige, smoother fufu, and is more pan-West African. Yam flour is specifically Yoruba, darker, and is cooked into amala rather than fufu.
No. Pounded yam (iyan) is made fresh by boiling and pounding whole yam tubers. Yam flour (elubo) is dried and milled yam used to make amala — a related but different swallow. See our Pounded Yam Recipe for the fresh-tuber version and the quick yam-flour method.