In popular Nigerian cuisine, there are two ways of making Jollof rice. First, is the party Jollof rice and the second is the homemade Jollof rice. The way Jollof rice is cooked at parties and events is different from the way it is cooked at home. Many of us love the taste of authentic party Jollof rice, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying something similar at home. What distinguishes both has to do with the style of cooking and the way the ingredients are incorporated. For this recipe, I will be showing you how to make my easy and straightforward Jollof rice recipe at home for your family.
There's a thin line between party Jollof rice and homemade Jollof rice. One way to achieve that authentic flavour is to use beef instead of any other meats (that's not to say that you won't get a delicious flavour from using other meats. All I'm saying is that beef takes the flavour to a whole new level.) The beef stock has a way of bringing out the authentic taste of party Jollof rice and if you want to achieve that at home, you can grab some homemade beef stock. For this recipe, I'm using beef and I want you to achieve that beef Jollof rice taste at home without using any complex ingredients, firewood and local pot (as used in making Nigerian party Jollof rice.) Organico Real Foods have asked me to share a recipe using their chopped tomatoes, so here we go.
HOW TO MAKE MY NIGERIAN HOMEMADE JOLLOF RICE
** If you like cooking with music, this is the time to play some afro beats as you cook. That would add some passion and love into your cooking haha! (I'm just kidding, but you can if you want though.)
Prep time - 1 hour +
Servings - 4 to 8
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 tin of Organico chopped tomatoes
- 2 mixed peppers (red and green)
- 1 scotch bonnet/chilli (the one's I buy are very hot if you add too many, you won't be able to eat it due to the hotness. Plus I've got young kids, so one is enough)
- 1 sachet of Onga stew seasoning (you can use this to replace tomato puree for that Jollof orange colour)
- Beef stock
- Garlic granules or cloves
- Ginger (optional)
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 Knorr chicken seasoning cubes
- Rapeseed oil/ any vegetable oil
- 3-4 cups of rice
- 2 onions
Directions:
Step 1: Rinse the rice and place in a pot. Add enough water just enough to cover the rice and par boil for 10 mins. Rinse the parboiled rice with cold water, drain and set aside
Step 2: Rinse the beef and place in a pot. Add salt to taste, curry powder, thyme and ground/minced ginger,chopped onion and garlic. Boil till tender. Remove the meat from the stock and grill/fry the beef. (Use a similar ingredient measurement as above for the stock. However, the ingredient list above is for the Jollof rice.) Set the stock aside separately you’d need these later.
Step 3: Remove the seeds from the mixed pepper and wash well. Blend the chopped tomatoes, mixed peppers, scotch bonnet pepper (red fresh pepper) and onion well too. Blend everything to a smooth puree. Fry some sliced onions in a pot of 1 cooking spoon of vegetable oil. Pour the blended puree into the pot and boil till there’s no water left leaving just the concentrated puree in the pot.
Step 4: Add the red Onga seasoning or tinned tomato paste into the boiled tomato (this would add redness to the stew to give the Jollof rice its unique orange colour). Add the spices and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes on low to medium heat.
Step 5: Pour the Beef Stock (meat water) into the fried puree and mix. Gently add the parboiled rice into the stew mixture and make sure the stock covers the rice, if it doesn’t simply add some water.
Step 6: Cover the pot with aluminium foil, so that the steam would also cook the rice and not evaporate. Leave the jollof to cook on low heat till it softens. Check the rice after 10 minutes to see if you need to add little more water or not. Once the liquid in the pot has almost dried up, stir with a wooden spoon or spatula. At this time, Check if the rice is soft enough and also check for salt and if the seasoning from the stock is enough, if not add the necessary ingredients.
Step 7: Cover and leave to steam cook. Let the Burning Begin, but not too much. leave to burn for at least 10mins.We don't want to eat burnt rice, do we? the burning sensation adds flavour to the Jollof rice. Once you are satisfied, turn off the burner and open the pot slightly for the vapor to evaporate.Your rice is ready…Serve with a side dish such as salad or fried plantain.
Notes:
• Avoid using a metal spoon so it doesn’t start burning the rice before its done. Use a wooden spoon or spatula for this purpose.
• Use a non-stick pot always
I hope this recipe was helpful and useful. If you try this recipe at home, let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading.
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