Jollof rice is a rice dish from West Africa. Many would argue it first originated from Senegal, but others swear it’s from Nigeria. No matter the origin, Jolof is one dish that binds us all across Africa, and it’s swiftly gaining international recognition and popularity.
Smoky Party-Style Jollof Rice is the “crème de la crème” of all jollof rice dishes. There are various recipes for Nigerian jollof rice, but the fundamentals of a party jollof rice are one that has stood through the test of time. Parties such as weddings, grand birthday celebrations, baby naming ceremonies and the celebration of life (burial of someone who has lived a long and full life) are a huge part of the Nigerian culture. Thus, as with many cultures, food plays an important role.
Also Read: MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN SKILLET
Smoky jollof rice
Course: MainCuisine: Nigerian, West-AfricanDifficulty: Easy4
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalJollof rice is a rice dish from West Africa. Many would argue it first originated from Senegal, but others swear it’s from Nigeria. No matter the origin, Jolof is one dish that binds us all across Africa, and it’s swiftly gaining international recognition and popularity.
Ingredients
- For the tomato base
900 g tomatoes (its important that the tomatoes are red, ripe and soft to the touch but not spoilt)
1 large red bell pepper
1 large red/purple onions
2 red scotch bonnet pepper
2 garlic clove
1 thumbsize fresh ginger
1 tsp coarse salt
- For the jollof rice:
2 ½ cups parboiled rice
2 cups meat stock
1 red/purple onions
½ cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 Maggi cubes (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tbsp coarse salt
- Optional for finishing steps:
15 g butter (roughly chopped)
a few slices of onions and tomatoes
Directions
- Steaming the fresh vegetables:
- Wash and roughly chop the tomatoes and bell peppers. Peel the onions and cut in quarters, peel the garlic and ginger. Place them in a pot with the tomatoes first at the bottom, also add the scotch bonnet peppers and a teaspoon of coarse salt.
- Place the pot over medium heat and cover with a lid. Do not add any liquid, the vegetables will produce their own liquid. Cook until all the liquid produced has dried up. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Once cool, transfer the cooked vegetables into a blender and blitz into a paste.
- Cooking the Jollof rice:
- Peel and finely chop the onions, then place a pot over medium-high heat and pour in the vegetable oil. Add the chopped onions and fry until lightly brown. Also, add the tomato paste, with one teaspoon each of dried thyme, curry powder, ginger powder and paprika. Then continually stir and sautee for about 2 minutes
- Pour in the blended tomato mixture (be careful as this will create a splatter, so I recommend you hold a lid close to the pot to prevent the hot oil or sauce from splashing unto you), stir and allow to fry for 5 minutes.
- Rinse the rice and add it to the pot. Also add the bay leaf, the remaining teaspoons of dried thyme and curry powder, Maggi cubes (if you choose), and salt. Then pour in the meat stock, stir all together and bring to a boil. Stir one more time, cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the excess liquid is reduced.
- Now remove the lid and stir the rice from the bottom up, then cover with a large piece of aluminium foil or baking paper (this will help trap in the steam). Cover again with the lid, reduce the heat and cook for another 10 minutes or until the rice is soft but still firm.
Notes
- For extra flavour and moisture, once the rice is cooked and still piping hot, throw in a few cubes of butter, allow it to melt, then give the rice one more stir. Serve hot.
- Just before serving the rice, you can also toss in some raw slices of onions and tomatoes.