Purple yam

Name variations

 * uhi
 * ube
 * ufi
 * ratalu
 * violet yam

About purple yam
Purple yam is a species of yam. In botany, this species is also known by the names "water yam" and "winged yam." It contains pigments that gives its bright lavender color. It is sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas cv. Ayamurasaki).

In Hawaiʻi it is known as uhi, in India as ratalu or violet yam, in Marathi as KondFal (कोंदफळ), in the Philippines as ube, in Tamil as "Rasa Valli Kilangu", in Tonga, Samoa and Tahiti as ʻufi", and in Vietnam as khoai mỡ.

Purple yam is used in a variety of desserts, as well as a flavor for ice cream, milk, Swiss rolls, tarts, cookies, cakes, and other pastries. In the Philippines, it is eaten as a sweetened dessert or jam called ube halaya and added as an ingredient in the ice dessert called halo halo. In Maharashtra, the stir-fried chips are eaten during religious fasting. Purple yam is also an essential ingredient in Undhiyu.