Ubi Jalar

Ipomoea batatas, ‘rambling ubi’. This is the original potato, as discovered by Columbus and brought back by him to astonish the Old World. Nowadays we call it a sweet potato. Do not confuse it with a yam, most varieties of which have yellow flesh, soft and somewhat watery. Yams (species of Dioscorea) are not much grown in Indonesia, but they are imported into England, presumably from Africa or the Caribbean, and there is often doubt about which name applies to a particular shapeless tuber on the greengrocer’s counter. Yams are not suitable for Getuk Lindri or most other sweet-potato dishes; ubi jalar have a reddish skin and a white or pinkish-white interior, with a dry, rather floury texture. The young leaves make an excellent green vegetable when boiled, but I have never seen them for sale in England.