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Loanding
This is a foolproof recipe for cooking Jollof rice, West Africa’s most popular dish. I like to serve it as a side with my West African-style grilled beef (Suya), but it can also be a main course.
Ingredients
- large, ripe tomato, cored and quartered: 1 piece
- red bell pepper, seeded and: 1 piece (chopped)
- whole habanero pepper, stem removed: 1 piece
- whole Fresno chili, or jalapeño, stem removed: 1 piece
- garlic: 4 clove (peeled)
- ginger: 1 Tbsp (minced)
- water: 2 cups
- olive oil: 0.33333 cup
- red onion: 1 piece (diced)
- salt, plus more: 1 tsp (to taste)
- tomato paste: 0.25 cup
- smoked paprika: 2 Tbsp
- curry powder: 1 tsp
- cumin: 1 tsp
- thyme: 1 tsp (dried)
- black pepper: 0.5 tsp (freshly ground)
- turmeric: 0.25 tsp
- 1/4 cups basmati rice: 2 piece
- bay leaf: 1 piece
- chicken bouillon paste: 1 Tbsp
- green onion: 0.25 cup (for garnish, chopped, optional)
- cilantro: 0.25 cup (for garnish, chopped, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Combine tomato, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, fresno chili, garlic, ginger, and water in a blender for the sauce. Blend on high until smooth and set aside.
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Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and salt and sauté until onion starts to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Clear space in the middle of the pan, add tomato paste, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with paprika, curry powder, cumin, thyme, pepper, and turmeric; continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes until everything is well combined.
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Turn off the heat, and stir in the rice, making sure every grain of rice is coated with the oil-tomato mixture. Add bay leaf and chicken bouillon paste.
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Turn heat to high, stir in tomato sauce, and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not remove the lid or stir rice.
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Turn off heat after 20 minutes, and set the timer for 12 minutes. Allow rice to sit and do not remove the lid.
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After the 12 minutes are up, remove lid, and fluff rice with a fork, separating all the grains. Serve garnished with green onions and chopped cilantro. Cook's Note: If rice seems to be a little undercooked at this point, stop fluffing. Pat the rice down gently with the back of the fork, cover tightly again, and set heat to medium low. Cook for another 5 minutes, and check again.
