Jollof Rice

Ingredients

• 4 big cups of parboiled long-grain rice, washed
• 5 big ripe tomatoes, blended
• 4 big Tatashe (red bell peppers), blended
• 3 to 4 Atarodo (hot chilli peppers), blended
• 1 big onion — half blended with the peppers, half sliced
• 4 cooking spoons of vegetable oil or groundnut oil
• 1 big handful of tomato paste (2 heaped big tablespoons)
• Half a medium chicken, cut into pieces — for cooking into the rice
• 2 big glasses of chicken or beef stock
• 3 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
• 1 teaspoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of thyme
• 1 teaspoon of ground Cameroon pepper or white pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 1 cooking spoon of butter — for finishing

Method

1. 01

   Cooking the Chicken. Season the chicken pieces with salt, 1 seasoning cube, curry, thyme and sliced onion. Cook in a pot with enough water to cover for 20 to 25 minutes until tender. Remove the chicken and set aside. Reserve the stock — this is your cooking liquid for the rice. For extra colour, briefly fry the cooked chicken pieces in hot oil until golden-brown. Set aside.

2. 02

   Frying the Pepper Base (Stew). Heat 4 cooking spoons of oil in a large, wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and fry for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and fry for 3 minutes, stirring. Pour in the blended tomatoes, Tatashe, Atarodo and onion. Fry this pepper base vigorously, stirring every few minutes, for 25 to 30 minutes until the raw tomato smell is completely gone, the colour has deepened to a rich dark red and the oil is clearly floating on top. This deeply fried pepper base is the flavour foundation of great Jollof Rice.

3. 03

   Seasoning the Base. Add the remaining seasoning cubes, curry, thyme, Cameroon pepper and bay leaves to the fried pepper. Add the chicken pieces. Stir everything together. Fry for 5 more minutes.

4. 04

   Adding the Stock. Pour in the reserved chicken stock — enough to cook the rice. The liquid should be about 1 finger-width above the rice level once added. Taste the liquid — it should be well-seasoned and slightly salty since the rice will absorb the seasoning. Add more salt or seasoning if needed. Bring to a vigorous boil.

5. 05

   Adding the Rice. Add the washed parboiled rice to the boiling, seasoned pepper broth. Stir once to combine everything. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover the pot tightly with aluminium foil first, then with the pot lid — this double-sealing traps the steam perfectly.

6. 06

   Cooking the Rice. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes without opening the lid. After 20 minutes, check the rice — lift the lid and foil carefully. The rice should be almost cooked through and most of the liquid absorbed. Stir the rice from the bottom to the top, ensuring the pepper-coated bottom rice comes to the top. Add the butter. Re-seal with foil and lid.

7. 07

   Creating the Party Smoky Bottom. This is the defining step of authentic Nigerian Party Jollof. Increase the heat to medium-high for the final 5 to 8 minutes. You will begin to smell a slightly smoky, caramelised aroma from the bottom of the pot — this is the party jollof forming. Do not burn it — you want a deep caramelisation, not charcoal. Remove from heat, leave covered for 5 minutes to steam through. When you open the pot, the rice should be beautifully coloured, fragrant, separated and have the coveted slightly smoky, crispy bottom layer.

More main dishes

• Fried Rice60 min
• Coconut Rice45 min
• Ofada Rice with Ayamase Sauce75 min
• Concoction Rice45 min
• Rice and Beans60 min
• Native Jollof Rice90 min