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the finished jollof rice
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Jollof Rice Recipe

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 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!