In a country that is so polarised along politics, ethnicity, culture and religion, Jollof rice, football and music tend to be unifying factors. When our Ghanaian friends tried to compete with our Jollof, we were united in defence of our jollof. For full disclosure, I have never eaten any other jollof but Nigerian jollof but don’t let me catch saying that any other jollof is better! I will go down swinging!
What is Jollof rice?
It is parboiled long grain rice cooked in rich and aromatic tomato stew. Absolutely delicious! It is cooked with any choice of meat and served with any choice of fried plantain, Cole slaw, moi moi, green salad or steamed vegetables. At a buffet it is common to see people, add all the sides to their Jollof.
I am nervous about taking on the Nigerian jollof, as Nigerians are passionate about their jollof and on Social Media they have no chill! But why, I ask myself, should I feel so? I have, after all, been cooking jollof all my life, and it’s always delicious.
When I think of a plate of jollof, it is that rich orange-reddish colour and sweet aroma of well-cooked tomatoes, ginger, garlic, curry powder and thyme that entices my senses. I do not like vegetables inside the jollof. I prefer those on the side; but well fried pieces of meat are always welcome inside my jollof.
People do jollof differently, obviously. Rice grains are often parboiled from factory, still, some people precook the rice before adding it to the stew. Others just wash the rice and add it to the stew with more liquid. I was raised to precook the rice. I will try it the other way, and let you know in the recipes section.
The typical ingredients in my Nigerian jollof are:
- Long grain parboiled rice
- Fresh tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Scotch bonnet
- Vegetable oil
- Onions
- Stock/Broth: If you boil the meat, reserve the well-seasoned broth for the rice or use stock cubes.
- Thyme
- Mild Curry powder: (a combination of turmeric, coriander, fenugreek, fennel, salt, paprika, onion, garlic, cumin, caraway, chili pepper, black pepper). The one I use is Ducros which is one of the top brands Nigerians use. If you live abroad, you should check that the curry powder is mild and contains these types of ingredients and not Cardamom and other strong spices suited for Indian cooking. The first time I bought curry powder in Dubai, I couldn’t understand what happened to my jollof!
- Bay leaves
- Black pepper
- Onions
- Red bell pepper /tatashe: since tomatoes around here don’t want to be red anymore.
- Rosemary: I prefer fresh ones.
- Basil (fresh whenever I have it).
With this introduction, I will be sharing jollof recipes soon, cooked both ways. You can decide which method suits you best.
Please leave a comment and tell me your best jollof memories.
Warm Regards,
-AJ
