Jollof rice is the most common West African dishes eaten in the regions of Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Cameroun, and Liberia. However, each of these West African countries has their own variation of this meal. It is inexpensive and easy to make yet, delicious.
Nigerian Jollof Rice is a rich and incredibly tasty west African one-pot Meal. It is a very versatile dish, and it is usually made from scratch using Rice, Tomatoes, Pimento peppers, Tomato paste, Scotch bonnet, Onions, Salt, and other spices.
To cook Nigerian Jollof Rice, you must have the right ingredient and seasoning. It is key to use parboiled rice so that you don’t end up with mushy rice in the end. When cooking Nigerian Jollof Rice the tomato stew, you can tell when it is done because the oil will rise to the top. It will be a deep red color and the bitter taste of the tomatoes has been cooked out. Reserve 1/4th of the tomato mixture and add it at the end to help prevent the rice from burning. Also, it gives the rice that beautiful red color we all know and love.
Nigerian Jollof Rice Ingredients and Seasoning
- 5 medium sized Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 medium sized onion, roughly chopped, set aside
- 2 scotch bonnet peppers (habanero peppers as they are sometimes called)
- 1/4 cup of groundnut oil
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups of parboiled rice
- 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp All purpose seasoning
- 1 Knorr stock cube
- 3 bay leaves
- Water, as needed
The Nigerian Jollof Rice ingredient and seasoning includes: Salt, dried thyme, curry powder and Maggi cubes were the basic seasonings in most traditional Jollof recipes is Oil: The sauce used in Jollof is oil-based. All of the above is fried up before the addition of rice.
To Cook Nigerian Jollof Rice: Instructions
- Blend your tomatoes, red pepper, scotch bonnet peppers in a food processor or blender for about 45 seconds, make sure that everything is blended well.
- In a medium sized pot, heat your oil on medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated add the onions you set aside and fry just until they turn golden brown. Once the onions, have turned brown in color add the tomato paste and fry for 2-3 minutes. Then add the blended tomato mixture (reserve about 1/4 cup and set aside) and fry the mixture with the onions and tomato paste for about 30 minutes. Make sure you stir consistently so that the tomato mixture does not burn.
- After 30 minutes, turn the heat down to medium, and add the chicken stock. Mix and add your seasonings (salt, curry powder, thyme, all purpose seasoning, and the Knorr stock cube). Continue to boil for 10 minutes.
- Add the parboiled rice to the pot. Mix it very well with the tomato stew. At this point if you need to add water so that the rice is level with the tomato mixture/chicken stock go ahead and do so. Add the bay leaves, cover the pot, and cook on medium to low heat for 15-30 minutes.
- When the liquid has almost dried up add the remaining tomato stew, cover, and let it cook for another 5-10 minutes heat until the liquid has completely dried up. Turn off the heat, mix thoroughly, and your Jollof Rice is ready to be eaten!
