For the love of Jollof Rice

I had planned to make some jollof rice this weekend, haven’t cooked it in ages and quite co-incidentally the #jollofgate issue arose. There has been a lot of controversy lately over Jamie Oliver’s twist on this dish. Won’t be getting into that discussion on here but the reality is that people have cooked jollof rice in different ways in many countries and even in the same home. For instance, my sister swears by cooking the sauce separately and then combining with parboiled rice cooked in stock, which is a brilliant method especially when cooking jollof AND fried rice. I on the other hand use the one pot method just because I believe it to be a simpler method plus you have less washing up to do. 🙂

Jollof rice is a signature dish in Nigeria, no party or event is complete without it. I remember when I was younger, mum would always make Jollof, dodo and fried chicken for international events at school. It was always a winner, standing proudly beside sushi, quiches and other dishes from around the world.

I once cooked it for flat mates and was shocked (pleasantly so) when she called me at work the next day asking if she could have the left over I had kept in the fridge. (Lol)

So if you’ve been wondering what all the fuss is about, maybe you should try the recipe, or shall I say my twist on it. (Lol)

You will need

1) 2 cups of rice
2) 5 tbsp of coconut oil or other vegetable oil
3) 1 can of chopped tomatoes about 400 g of tomatoes
4) 1 red bell pepper
5) 1 green bell pepper
6) 1 medium-sized onion
7) 1 tsp curry
8) 1 tsp thyme
9) 2 tsp of ground nutmeg
10) 2 tbsp of tomato purée
11) 2 cups of chicken or beef stock
12) 1 cup of hot water
13) Salt to taste
14) 1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
15) 1 tsp of fresh root ginger
16) 1 garlic clove

Method

1) Wash the rice thoroughly until water is clear and set aside.

2) Blend the peppers, tomatoes and onions in a liquidiser until smooth.

3) In a pan heat the oil, add the curry, thyme, nutmeg, ginger and garlic. Let infuse for a few minutes.

4) Pour the blend into the pan, add the tomato purée, stock and 1 cup of hot water. Bring this to a boil on high heat.

5) Turn down the heat stir well. Add the rice gently. Spread out the rice so it’s evenly spread in the pan.

6) Cover the pot with foil paper and then place lid over the pot. This allows rice to cook in its own steam. Leave to cook for 10 mins.

7) Check if it needs some water, if it does add a little at a time. Cook on low heat until rice has absorbed most of the liquid, do not stir the rice. It would help to leave the pot open at this stage in order to help lose the moisture. The rice ideally shouldn’t be moist or sticky at this point.

8) Serve with vegetables and meat of your choice. 🙂

Do you have a different way of cooking jollof rice?

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