Yaa. (This Traditional Oil.)

Yaa grows on trees and has a fruit which resembles mangoes, only it is smaller. The fruit stays green when it is ripe, and it is very sweet for eating. The seeds are brown and about the length of one knuckle. When you first get the seed, it has a smooth, light brown shell. After drying in the sun, you can remove this shell, then dry even the inner seed. These seeds can be preserved for some months inside.

When you want to make oil, you first roast the seeds on the fire, and they become black. Then you pound them, producing a thick, black, gooey substance. (If you also grind the seeds after pounding, it will produce more oil.)

This gooey substance, you take for cooking. First, you heat water, then add a good portion of the yaa. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. The consistency should be neither very thick nor very thin. Cook for some time at a rolling boil, stirring occasionally. The oil is now separating from the thicker residue (which somehow resembles coffee grounds).

Pour off the oil, and discard the residue. Allow the oil to cool, then filter it.

Yaa can be used for cooking, but it is mostly taken as a condiment for food. For example, it can be poured over bread (made from sorghum and millet) and peas. It is sold in the market, and people seem to really enjoy it.

I watched Auntie prepare the oil from preserved seeds today, from grinding through the cooking process. It took a good part of the day, but we enjoyed the yaa oil with our supper. Personally, I prefer my food a little less oily, but it does have a very distinct flavour.