If one were to describe West African cuisine with one dish the resounding answer would be jollof rice. Honestly, each country from Senegal in the Northwest to Cammaron in the Southeast has its own take on the classic dish. And as one would expect there are many fierce nationalistic debates over whose version is the best. With the biggest debate being between the two frontrunners Ghanian & Nigerian.
So since it’s impossible for us to not piss off someone, I’m just going to get it out of the way and say that today we are choosing the Nigerian version.
Sorry, Ghana, I hope there are no hard feelings.
But no matter which style you prefer you will always end up with a delicious side dish. Because rice cooked in a tomato, onion, and hot pepper sauce along with a flavorful blend of spices is always a winning combo.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- What type of rice to use? Well, the most traditional/one I recommend is parboiled long grain rice. Which if you live in the U.S. like me were talking about good old Uncle Ben. Why? Well, it allows you to cook the rice with less liquid which results in a dish that’s tender and fluffy. And trust me I have tried to make this dish with regular long-grain rice before and it always turns out mushy!
- One of the key ingredients for jollof rice is curry powder. However, every curry powder is made from a different blend of spices, so the brand you choose could alter the flavor. That being said if you are looking to make this dish as authentic as you can make your own Nigerian curry powder.
- Since Nigerian jollof rice is often called “party” rice it tends to make a big batch. That being said you can easily half all of the ingredients to serve a smaller crowd.
- I love serving this dish with grilled meats like Dry Rubbed Pork Chops, Mojo Chicken, or Moroccan Spiced Lamb Chops.
Jollof Rice Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12
Ingredients
4 Cups of long grain parboiled rice
6 oz. of tomato paste
½ Large red onion, sliced thin
2 Cups of chicken stock
¼ Cup of vegetable oil
½ Tablespoon of thyme, dried
½ Tablespoon of curry powder
3 Bay leaves
Salt to taste
For the tomato pepper sauce:
½ Large red onion
2 Medium tomatoes
2 Red Bell Peppers
3 Cloves of garlic
1 to 2 Habeneros peppers, depending on your spice tolerance
1 Tablespoon of smoked paprika
Instructions
- Make the tomato pepper sauce: Peel the red onion and deseed the bell peppers. Add these two ingredients along with the tomatoes, habaneros, garlic, and smoked paprika to a blender. Blend it all up until it is smooth. This should yield roughly 4 cups worth of sauce.
- Fry the onion and tomato paste: Get out a large 6-quart pot, place it over high heat, and pour in the vegetable oil. Then toss in the sliced red onion and saute it for 8 minutes.
Lower the heat, add in the tomato paste, continue sauteing for 3 more minutes.
- Make the base of the jollof rice: Pour in the 4 cups of tomato pepper sauce along with the thyme, curry powder, and bay leaves into the pot. Stir everything together, and let simmer uncovered for roughly 15 minutes.
- Wash the rice: In order to make sure our rice isn’t soggy we are going to want to remove any excess starch by washing it. To do this simply add the rice to a large bowl, cover it with water, agitate it, then drain off the water. Repeat these steps until the water is clear after agitating it in the rice, about 3 to 5 times.
- Cook the rice: Add the washed rice to the pot along with the chicken stock and mix it into the sauce.
Let it come to a simmer then turn the heat to low. Then cover the pot with some aluminum foil followed by the lid.
Let the rice cook the rice for 30 minutes, making sure to stir it up halfway between.
- After 30 minutes taste the rice and add salt to your liking. Also if the rice isn’t soft enough add a half cup of water and let it cook, covered for an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve your jollof rice immediately and enjoy!
Jollof Rice Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 Cups of long grain parboiled rice
- 6 oz. of tomato paste
- ½ Large red onion sliced thin
- 2 Cups of chicken stock
- ¼ Cup of vegetable oil
- ½ Tablespoon of thyme dried
- ½ Tablespoon of curry powder
- 3 Bay leaves
- Salt to taste
For the tomato pepper sauce:
- ½ Large red onion
- 2 Medium tomatoes
- 2 Red Bell Peppers
- 3 Cloves of garlic
- 1 to 2 Habeneros peppers depending on your spice tolerance
- 1 Tablespoon of smoked paprika
Instructions
- Make the tomato pepper sauce: Peel the red onion and deseed the bell peppers. Add these two ingredients along with the tomatoes, habaneros, garlic, and smoked paprika to a blender. Blend it all up until it is smooth. This should yield roughly 4 cups worth of sauce.
- Fry the onion and tomato paste: Get out a large 6-quart pot, place it over high heat, and pour in the vegetable oil. Then toss in the sliced red onion and saute it for 8 minutes. Lower the heat, add in the tomato paste, continue sauteing for 3 more minutes.
- Make the base of the jollof rice: Pour in the 4 cups of tomato pepper sauce along with the thyme, curry powder, and bay leaves into the pot. Stir everything together, and let simmer uncovered for roughly 15 minutes.
- Wash the rice: In order to make sure our rice isn’t soggy we are going to want to remove any excess starch by washing it. To do this simply add the rice to a large bowl, cover it with water, agitate it, then drain off the water. Repeat these steps until the water is clear after agitating it in the rice, about 3 to 5 times.
- Cook the rice: Add the washed rice to the pot along with the chicken stock and mix it into the sauce. Let it come to a simmer then turn the heat to low. Then cover the pot with some aluminum foil followed by the lid. Let the rice cook the rice for 30 minutes, making sure to stir it up halfway between.
- After 30 minutes taste the rice and add salt to your liking. Also if the rice isn’t soft enough add a half cup of water and let it cook, covered for an additional 10 minutes.
- Serve your jollof rice immediately and enjoy!
