Jollof Rice Recipe: How to Make Nigerian Jollof Rice

This jollof rice recipe is the Nigerian one: long grain rice cooked in a blended tomato and pepper base until the grains take the colour and the flavour of the sauce all the way through. Done properly you should not need to add anything to the plate.

Serves 6. About 1 hour.

What makes jollof jollof

The rice is not boiled and then mixed with sauce. It is cooked in the sauce, so the liquid it absorbs is already seasoned. Everything depends on getting that base right before a single grain goes in.

Party jollof, the kind served at Nigerian weddings, gets its smokiness from cooking over firewood and from a deliberately scorched bottom layer. You can get close on a domestic hob if you are brave with the heat at the end.

Ingredients

• 3 cups long grain parboiled rice
• 6 large tomatoes, or one 400g tin
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 to 2 scotch bonnet peppers
• 1 large onion
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Jeb Foods ground crayfish, optional but traditional
• 2 stock cubes
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cups chicken or beef stock
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Blend the tomatoes, bell peppers, scotch bonnet and half the onion until smooth.
2. Slice the remaining onion. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the sliced onion until soft.
3. Add the tomato paste and fry 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and loses its raw smell.
4. Pour in the blended mixture. Cook on medium for 15 to 20 minutes until it thickens and the oil rises to the surface. Do not rush this. It is the whole dish.
5. Stir in the thyme, curry powder, bay leaves, stock cubes and ground crayfish.
6. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Taste the liquid now and get the salt right, because you cannot fix it later.
7. Wash the rice until the water runs clear. Add it and stir once.
8. Cover tightly, foil under the lid if you have it, and cook on low for 25 to 30 minutes without stirring.
9. Check it. Stir gently from the bottom, cover again, give it 5 to 10 minutes more if it needs it.

Tips

• Use long grain parboiled rice. Basmati is too fragrant and breaks down; easy cook rice turns to porridge.
• The base is done when the oil separates and sits on top. Before that it still tastes raw.
• Do not stir during the covered cook. Every stir breaks grains and makes it sticky.
• For the smoky bottom, turn the heat up for the last 2 minutes and listen. When you hear it catch, take it off.

Variations

• Party jollof: more heat at the end, and a deliberate scorched base.
• Jollof with beef or chicken: cook the meat first and use its stock in the rice.
• Coconut jollof: swap a cup of the stock for coconut milk.
• Rub Jeb Foods suya seasoning on the meat you serve alongside. It is very good with jollof.

Questions people ask

What are the ingredients for jollof rice?

Rice, tomatoes, red bell pepper, scotch bonnet, onion, oil, tomato paste, stock and seasoning. Everything else is a matter of house style.

Why is my jollof mushy?

Too much liquid, the wrong rice, or stirring during cooking. Measure the stock and leave it alone.

Why is my jollof orange rather than red?

Not enough tomato paste, or the base was not cooked down long enough.

Can I make it in advance?

Yes, and many people think it is better the next day. Reheat with a splash of stock, covered.

To serve

Serve with fried plantain, coleslaw, and grilled chicken or beef.

The crayfish contains shellfish. Suya seasoning contains peanuts.