Celebration in an African home CAN NOT happen without the presence of Jollof rice. I mean, come on, what are we (Africans) supposed to eat? Burgers? lol.
Jollof rice is a very common dish prepared in many African countries and each recipe differs depending on the nation. I specifically prepare the Nigerian party jollof rice which I still feel is one of the best recipes out there (not being biased, just stating facts LOL)
Party jollof rice is commonly the most sort after type of rice, because of its very unique taste. Most people feel the unique taste comes from preparation using firewood, but that isn’t always necessarily the case.
For me, it’s impossible to make rice with firewood, since my apartment complex doesn’t necessarily allow one to grill, let alone smoke anything. But I’m going to give you a recipe that comes close to the wonderful taste of party Jollof without any firewood.
Since I was in the party mood yesterday, I decided to prepare myself this awesome dish to celebrate our independence. I posted a few pictures of the food on my instagram and was completely blown away by the number of people who wanted my recipe.
So to not be stingy to my fellow Africans as well as my brothers and sisters of other races/cultures I decided I would put up a blog post showing you guys step-by-step how I prepare this delicious dish.
I’ve been slacking lately on the food posts, but since it’s fall time, I guess it’s only right for me to jump back on the food post wagon. So expect to see more recipes in the future (fingers crossed).
RELATED POST: JOLLOF BEEF SAUCE
PARTY JOLLOF RICE RECIPE | COOK & PREP TIME: ~ 1 hour 15min
Ingredients:
- 4 Tablespoons of Canola oil or any oil of your choice
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 4 Fresh tomatoes or one 14.5oz can of diced (no salt) Hunts tomato (I seriously suggest using this brand If you decide to buy canned)
- 1 6oz can Tomato paste
- 4 Red onions
- 2 Red bell peppers
- crayfish (optional, but I love to use it)
- 4 Habanero pepper (scotch bonnet) (put as much or as little as you want, depending on how spicy you want your rice)
- 4 1/2 cups of long-grain parboiled rice
- 2 cups of chicken stock
Spices:
- Maggi or Knorr cubes
- salt
- cayenne pepper and black pepper
- white pepper
- Bay leaves
- curry powder
- garlic or onion powder
- ginger
- thyme leaves
The quantity of spices depends on your preference. Be sure to use your judgment and avoid adding too many spices. A recipe card with exact measurements is also listed below.
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat about 4 tablespoons of canola oil and butter in a medium-sized pot on medium heat and throw in some chopped red onions. Allow the onions to fry until the redness starts to slightly fade off.
- Next, pour in your tomato paste and let it fry with the onions. Make sure to stir the paste consistently to avoid burning. Do this for about 10 mins, or until the paste fully fries in the oil. Add in your crayfish for an extra tasty flavor.
- Blend some tomatoes, onions, habanero peppers, and red bell peppers together until you achieve a smooth consistency.
- Pour the blended mixture into the pot and fry it together with the tomato paste.
- Add all your spices (BUT DON’T ADD SALT YET) and mix. Cover the pot and allow the tomato to fry in the oil. Add more oil if necessary. You really want to let the tomato fry to remove the slappy sour taste, so make sure you don’t rush this process. I would recommend letting it fry for about 20-30 mins. Be sure to continuously stir the mixture to avoid burning.
- At this point, while the tomato is frying, begin to wash your long-grain parboiled rice. Make sure to get rid of as much starch as possible by washing the rice until the water used becomes very clear. This helps to prevent the rice from sticking together when cooking.
- Once the tomato is done frying, add your chicken stock to the mix and taste it to see if it requires any salt. Add salt if necessary and mix.
- Now add in your washed rice (and a bit of water if necessary to cook the rice) and mix it together with the fried tomatoes. Turn down the heat to the lowest on your burner and cover the pot. I personally like to cover the pot with aluminum foil before putting on the lid just to make sure the heat stays within the pot without escaping from the lid hole.
- Allow the rice to cook for about 30 minutes.
- After about 30 minutes open the pot and properly combine all the ingredients together. Cover the pot again, and let it cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the rice has fully blended in with the mixture.
TIP: By the way, if you want the smokey taste of most party Jollof rice popular in Nigeria, cooking on firewood, or using a stainless steel pot will give that extra flavor as well.
Nigerian Jollof rice recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 14.5 oz tomato sauce - canned, unsalted
- 2 red bell peppers
- 6 oz tomato paste - canned
- 3 red onion - for blending
- 1 red onion - chopped, for frying
- 2 tbsp crayfish - blended or ground
- 3 scotch bonnet - OR habanero pepppers. Seed removed. (Add more or less based on how spicy you want)
- 4 ½ cups rice
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Maggi
- 1 tbsp salt
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ tbsp curry powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp thyme
- ¼ tsp ginger
Instructions
- Blend tomatoes, red bell peppers, habanero peppers, large red onions until consistency is smooth and set aside
- Wash the rice thoroughly to rid off starch and set aside.
- To a medium-sized pot on medium heat, heat canola oil and butter
- Throw in chopped onions and allow to fry for about 5 mins or until redness starts to fade
- Pour in tomato paste and allow to fry for about 10-15 minutes, stirring continuously to avoid burning.
- Add in your blended mixture, crayfish, Maggi, cayenne & black pepper, white pepper, bay leaves, curry powder, garlic, thyme. Mix and fry for about 30 minutes, continuously stirring to avoid burning.
- Add chicken stock and salt. Mix and allow cook for an additional 10 mins
- Add in washed rice and a bit of water (if necessary), and reduce heat to low.
- Cover pot with aluminum foil, to avoid heat from escaping through lid
- Cook rice on low heat for about 30 mins
- Once cooked, mix thoroughly to combine ingredients
- Cover and let cook for an additional 10 mins.
- To get the party Jollof flavor, turn up the heat and let the rice burn for about 3 mins. (Be careful with this step, so you don’t burn the whole rice)
