How to prepare African Jollof rice

Ever tried a wonderful West African dish called Jollof rice? It's made up of rice cooked in a delicious spicy "tomato stew". The stew is made with tomatoes, tomato paste and spices and the key ingredient on this tomato stew is Scotch bonnet peppers which impart a sweet and spicy flavour to the stew. Here it is served with soft bone-in chicken pieces to accompany the smoky rice.




Although it is a popular recipe across West Africa nowhere more is it hotly contested that between Nigeria and Ghana. Words are exchanged over whose Jollof rice is better. If you google "Nigerian vs Ghanaian Jollof" there are thousands of pitches either way. I love how passionate each side is about defending their Jollof rice. Each country cooks the rice slightly differently. In Nigeria they use long grain rice while in Ghana they use Thai jasmine or basmati rice. In Ghana they serve it with a spicy

condiment called shito.

INGREDIENTS

4 cups rice

1 kg beef, fish, goat meat, chicken

4 cups blended tomatoes

1 cup tomato paste

2 onion bulbs, nicely chopped

1 paprika

Chilli pepper to taste

1 tsp curry

1 tsp thyme

3 seasoning cubes

½ tbsp. ginger, grated

1 clove, garlic

1 cup of vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Season the meat with the spices and boil till it is soft

Fry or grill the meat

Parboil the rice for about 8-10minutes and the wash it

Pour the vegetable oil into a pot

Put half of the onions and fry till it looks translucent

Pour in the blended tomatoes and paprika and then fry for about 15minutes till it becomes a puree

Pour the stock into the tomatoes puree and cook for another 10minutes

Pour the sauce into the rice till it just cover the surface of the rice in the pot

Add the remaining onions into the pot with the rest of the spices

Add salt and pepper to taste

Allow to cook till it dries and still grainy (not mashy)