Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice - This spicy one-pot jollof rice recipe is a family favorite among many west African families. It's spicy, comforting, and satisfying. Jollof rice is a perfect rice recipe for those who are looking for a one-pot rice recipe.

This Nigerian jollof rice or Ghanian jollof rice is an easy meal that can be served as dinner or lunch. An easy main meal recipe that will change your Rice Game. 

Jollof rice is made with simple ingredients such as tomatoes, onion, carrots, chicken cubes, rosemary, coriander just to mention a few. 

I am from southern Africa and this recipe isn't popular in this part of Africa but I cooked the rice the Nigerian way, I tried to keep it as authentic as possible. 

So here is the story of how I got to know about jollof rice or Jollof rice as some people call it.

6 or 7 years ago my mom went to a beauty salon to do her hair, it was a different salon from where she used to do her hair. She did her hair, it was very beautiful and neat, then she told me about a Nigerian lady who did her hair and she gave me her number just in case I needed someone to plait my hair. 

A month later I called this some lady to do my hair at my place, of course, she came and while she was plaiting my hair she told me about her life, how she left Nigerian and got married to a Congolese and how they came to Zambia. Fast forward.

My family and she became close. She was new in Zambia and didn't know many people so a lot of time she would come to my place, just to pass time, We also used to visit her at her place.

At one point mom got sick and was admitted to the hospital and when she has discharged aunt Josephine( my new aunt from Nigerian) came to see mom and as a few Africans do, she came with cooked meals. One of the dishes was boiled potatoes with dry fish( unfortunately I didn't ask her what the dish was) another food warmer contained rice, aunt Josephine called it jollof rice. 

I ate the rice, the truth is that I love it, so I asked for a recipe. Jollof rice recipe wasn't the only recipe aunt Josephine shared with me, she also shared the egusi soup recipe, and although at first, I was hesitant about trying out egusi soup, I didn't want to limit myself to just one Nigerian recipe. I tried out egusi soup and I loved it, I'll soon share the recipe with your guess. 

Let's now go back to Nigerian jollof rice.

This recipe is great in satisfying a crowd and picky kids. Jollof rice gets its savory taste from a blend of spices and vegetables.

I have a soft spot for rice, especially if it's one-pot rice hence it was easy for me to fall in love with Nigerian jollof drive. 

This rice recipe is easy to make and the ingredients are widely available.

Jollof rice might have originated from Nigeria or Ghana but there is no wrong or right way of preparing it. It has many variations and add-ins.

Jollof rice isn't only known in Nigeria and Ghana, it's popular in some other countries like Togo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, and Liberia

What Is Jollof Rice?

Jollof Rice is rice cooked in tomato sauce, spices and seasonings. This rice is so delicious and bursting with flavor.

The rice is served on special occasions such as weddings, birthdays or charisma.

Jollof Rice has many different names including riz au gras in french speaking countries, ceebu jen in Senegal 

Jollof rice is not to be confused with nigerian fried rice.

JOLLOF RICE INGREDIENTS 

Rice: There is always a heated debate when it comes to the type of rice to use when preparing jallof rice aka jollof rice. The most suitable and common options are long grain rice like Thai jasmine and basmati, and of course I used basmati rice. Basmati rice is only used when cooking jollof rice but when it comes to  baked jollof rice, people prefer jasmine rice because it cooks softer. 

Tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes blended in a blended. You can also use tomato sauce if you do not want to use fresh tomatoes.

Onions: This vegetable is a must have for almost every recipe, it's tangy flavor is irreplaceable.

Carrots: You can make vegan jollof rice colorful by adding carrots and peas. I didn't want to go to extreme miles since I had already picked extra ingredients so I had to stick to carrots only.

Rosemary: I blended a few leaves of fresh Rosemary.

Coriander: blended coriander plant also called cilantro

Cupsicum: I have a soft spot for bell peppers, there is no way I was going to exclude them from this recipe. Cupsicum is also known as bell pepper, pepper or sweet pepper.

Chillies: I am not a very spicy person, or should I say a spice lover? Yeah! I don't really like chillie, plus this rice was for dinner so of course the kids were not excluded so I had to use 1 local chilli. I call it local chili because I don't know what it is called, the chili were given to me by a marketer after buying green beans. 

If you love spicy food then look for scotch bonnet, it makes food spicier. 

Chicken cubes: This isn't a chicken jollof rice or beef stew jollof rice, it's a vegetable jollof rice but I used chicken cubes for a bit of chicken taste. If you want something totally vegan then use regular vegetable stock cube and you'll have a vegan jollof rice.

Oil: authentic jollof rice is cooked with palm oil, I have no idea where to get palm oil so I used olive oil.

HOW TO COOK JOLLOF RICE

1. Chop tomatoes, onion, carrots, rosemary, capsicum, chilies and chicken cubes. Put them in a blender and blend. You can also use a food processor
2. .Put a pot on the stove top, add cooking oil, add the puree to the pot as soon as the cooking oil is warm.Cook for 15 minutes. 
3. Wash rice in hot water and add it to the gravy, add a bit of water and cover the pot with a lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook rice until it's almost dry.

RECIPE FAQ

What rice is best for jollof rice?

Jasmine and Basmati

Can you freeze jollof rice?

You can freeze jollof rice in an airtight container for 3 months.

Why did my jollof rice burn?

Jollof rice burns when there isn't enough water, it also burns when stirred too much.

Why is my jollof rice mushy?

Adding too much water can result in mushy rice. Measure water according to rice, many rice recipes call for 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water of 1 cup of rice to 1 ½ cups of water depending with the rice you are using.

Why is my jollof rice hard?

The grains are undedcooked. Add more water and continue cooking til the grains are soft yet chewy.

What to serve with jollof rice

You can serve jollof rice with delicious and easy chicken gizzards skewers

Chilli gizzard skewers

If you love indian cuisine then you'll this butter chicken recipe with jollof rice 

Butter chicken with rice

This jollof rice recipe isn't complete without spatchcock chicken 

Spatchcock chicken on vegetables

Like it? Pin it for later!

This spicy one-pot jollof rice recipe is a family favorite among many west African families. It's spicy, comforting, and satisfying. Jollof rice is a perfect rice recipe for those who are looking for a one-pot rice recipe.

Jollof Rice

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg basmati rice
• 4 Tomatoes
• 1 ½ Onions
• 5 Carrots
• Rosemary
• Coriander
• 1 Yellow pepper
• 2 Chillies
• 2 Chicken stock cubes
• 1 tablespoon salt

METHOD

1. Chop tomatoes, onion, carrots, rosemary, capsicum, chilies and chicken cubes. Put them in a blender and blend. You can also use a food processor.
2. Put a pot on the stove top, add cooking oil, add the puree to the pot as soon as the cooking oil is warm.Cook for 15 minutes.
3. Wash rice in hot water and add it to the gravy, add a bit of water and cover the pot with a lid.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook rice until it's almost dry.


Equipments Used: 
• Glass Mixing bowl 
• Blender 
• Chopping Board 
• Pot 
• Kitchen Knife





TRIED THIS RECIPE?

I would love to hear from you. If you have made this recipe then please do leave a comment below. If you like this recipe then please do share the recipe with your friends and family on Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Did you make this recipe? Tag @cook.appetite or hashtag it #cookappetite!