Jollof Rice is one popular dish among the West African people. This one-pot rice dish is one that has brought about numerous argument among different countries because of it's deliciousness, as a few country claims theirs' taste better than others LOLZ😁. I guess by now, we all know about the famous argument about the Ghanaian and Nigerian Jollof rice. As the name implies this is one dish that puts people in a merry or 'Jolli' mood and is prepared on special occasions such as Marriage ceremonies, Burials(celebration of life), Birthdays, Children dedications and even festivities such as New year, Christmas and Easter celebrations. This is one of my favorite dish as it has a lot of versatility to it, from the cooking methods to the meat types and also servings.
I used the typical boiling method for this particular Jollof rice, as Jollof rice can be fried or baked also (Recipes on those would be coming up soon) and leftovers of several meat types with which I prepared Assorted meat sauce to be eaten with my rice. This dish can be prepared using different kinds of grains from short grain rice, basmati, jasmine rice to even Buckwheat.....Yes😜!! I think I have done enough talking, May we proceed to the preparation.
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients for the Jollof Rice
- 900g of short grains rice
- 200g of tinned tomatoes
- 6 seeds of tomatoes blended with peppers and 1 whole onion
- 2 seeds of tomatoes sliced in circular forms
- 1 onion chopped up into squares less than an inch in size
- Meat stock
- 0.20L of Vegetable oil(6 Tbsps)
- 3 maggi cubes
- 1/2 Tbsp of salt
- 1/2 Tbsp of turmeric
- 1/2 Tbsp of dried thyme (less than 1/2 was used)
- 1/2 Tbsp of dried ginger powder
- 1/4 Tbsp of dried nutmeg powder
- 3 gloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp of grounded dried chilli peppers
Directions
In a pot of boiling water, put in your already cleaned rice (rice is washed over running water). Allow rice to cook for 3 minutes then check it up, the rice should look a bit cooked( just a bit), excess water in drained out and a little turmeric, salt, 1 maggi cube, and pepper is added to the rice. the water left to cook the rice at this stage should be just about 2 cm or 1 and a half away from the rice depending on how hard your rice is but not more.(This is because the sauce which we are about to make would cook the rice further and we don't want the rice too soft😲). Set rice aside and in a sieve, when ready.
In a non-stick pan or same pot(If pot is non-stick or of good quality), put in the estimated amount of vegetable oil, allow oil get hot then add in a pinch of salt, the fresh chopped onions and garlic. Stir onions and when it turns translucent, add in the blended fresh tomatoes and peppers and cover pot lid (this would cook for 6 minutes). Add in your tinned tomatoes, chilli peppers, nutmeg, bay leaves, thyme and the meat stock then cover pot lid and let stew cook for 10 minutes( we want the stew to be dried, you would know that when the oil separates and sits on the paste). when the stew is dried you should dish out half of the stew and set aside, add in the sliced fresh tomatoes in the pot and your half -cooked rice, then with a wooden spatula stir mixture and cover the rice with foil paper or nylon bag (ensure you add enough sauce to the rice mixture but still leave some for the meat😍). The cooker should be reduced to medium heat to allow the rice cook and get dried without getting brunt too soon.
After about 8 minutes open rice and stir from top to bottom with wooden spatula (you may add more of the sauce we just made, if color isn't to your taste). Taste rice if maggi and salt is enough but please be mindful of salt and use as little as possible!! It is normal for jollof rice to burn but ensure that you cooker is on medium to low heat, so the rice cooks at the same time and keep the rice covered with foil or nylon to trap in stream that would cook the rice faster on that low heat. Calculating from the 1st time you stirred the rice after 8 minutes, give the food 5-7 more minutes and VIOLA!! Jollof rice is ready.
This meal is served along side some Vegetables prepared in different forms of salads, fried plantains, beans, spaghetti and different kinds of meats and fish of choice. Since the food is so spicy, it is preferable to serve it with a glass of white wine, or soft drink.....I prefer mine with a glass of orange juice. I hope I was able to give a detail description and direction of how this meal was prepared!!
Ingredients for the assorted meat sauce
- Shaki....Cooked (rectum of a cow)
- Gizzard(cooked with salt and pepper)
- Smoked chicken
- Smoked beef
- Stew sauce (a little of the sauce made for the jollof rice)
Directions
All pieces of meat were shredded up, in small bits placed in a non-stick pan, the stew sauce was added on it and stirred for several minutes. Taste for pepper and salt and add extra if need be and that was all.Thanks for visiting the blog once again, comments are welcome below. XOXO😚.
Recipe:Uzzy_rac
