Recipe: Jollof rice

Assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatu. I shall be posting another African recipe this week but this time from the Western part of the continent where the food is rich, spices different and people really lovely. Of course, I’m talking about Nigeria! I sometimes refer to it as tomato rice (not that anyone ever calls it that in Nigeria). There have been several arguments on whether or not this particular dish is originally from Nigeria. To verify these claims, I head over to Wikipedia and apparently it originates from the Gambia (there is no need to guess who wrote that one). Well, if they did I must say a big thank you to the beautiful sisters in Gambia who ‘invented’ this amazing recipe that I have come to love.

What you'll need (serves 6-8)

500g easy cook long grain rice

8 medium sized fresh tomatoes

1 red bell pepper

1 red chilli (optional)

1 small can of tomato puree (approximately 3 tablespoons)

3 tablespoons vegetable (or sunflower) oil

2 medium sized onions

1 garlic clove (finely chopped)

1 stock cube

3 teaspoons curry powder

3 teaspoons thyme

salt to taste (1-2 teaspoons)

6 Bay leaves(optional)

Preparation

Blend the pepper, chilli, 1 onion and 6 of the tomatoes together until it becomes smooth

Slice half of the remaining onion and julienne the other half

Slice the rest of the tomatoes

Parboil the rice in a medium sized pot for 5 minutes. Then wash it with cold water until water is transparent (this prevents clumping of the rice). Alternatively if you don’t have the time to parboil, wash the rice and add a few drops of malt vinegar which also prevents clumping (especially if using basmati rice). Using another pot, fry the julienned onions and garlic for a couple of minutes in medium heat then add the blended mixture. Fry for another 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, stock cube, curry, thyme and salt. Add the parboiled rice and water to just about cover the rice in the pot. Cover the pot and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sliced onion and tomatoes to the top of the rice and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until dry. If using bay leaves, cover the top of the rice with the bay leaves.

Warning: Jollof rice is notorious for burning that some argue that it is the burning that gives the distinct taste and aroma. So if after 5 minutes you smell burning, don’t panic just reduce the heating. Where possible, use a non stick pot for the cooking to prevent burning. Also try to avoid stirring the mixture once rice has been added and you may be able to produce jollof rice that does not burn. Alternatively, put the pot of rice in the oven and oven cook in 180-220 ⁰C for 15 minutes , that way it won’t burn but make sure the pot has no plastic handle beforehand.

Usually served with fried plantain, chicken and egg salad (in Nigerian parties)

Just in case you were wondering, the Gambian version is known as Benachin and they often add sea food, meat +/- vegetables in the mixture although once you start adding things to the mixture in Nigeria, the name changes from jollof rice to concoction. One day, I shall prepare the Gambian “version” and let you know which I prefer.