Servings: 6 people
Calories: 420kcal
Ingredients
Jollof Ingredients
- 2 cups Tomato Puree
- 2 cups jasmine rice rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup palm oil or olive oil
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- ½ tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Tomato Puree Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon palm oil
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 teaspoon fresh ginger chopped
- 2 habanero chilis seeded and chopped
- 6 oz can of tomato paste
- 12 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Tomato Puree Instructions
- In a large skillet heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and season with salt and other spices. Cook until onions become translucent, 3-5 minutes
- Add garlic, ginger, and chilis and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- You should have a nice aroma now and can add the tomato paste, cooking for another 6-8 minutes. Note: Stir well to ensure paste is incorporated well with the vegetables and cooks evenly.
- Transfer all ingredients to blender or food processor and add the diced tomatoes. Process until smooth. Set aside.
Jollof Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Add bell peppers last 3 minutes.
- Stir in the rice, curry powder, paprika, thyme, 1 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring, until the rice is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the bay leaf and 1½ cups water, bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has been absorbed, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato puree and return to a simmer, then reduce to medium-low. Cover and cook until almost dry and the rice is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Let the rice sit for at least 5 minutes after its done cooking, then fluff with fork.
Video
Notes
If it's available to you, use palm oil. It will give the rice a distinct red color as well as that African flavor.
Palm oil is common in parts of Africa and imparts a reddish color to the dish. Other oils are perfectly suitable as I know palm oil is not readily available at all grocery stores.
Parboiled rice is preferred in a lot of recipes because it's easy to end up with mushy rice using regular rice. The trade-off, however, is the flavor of the dish isn't as intense. In my experience the longer cook time for regular rice means it stews longer in the tomato mix.
To ensure non-mushy rice follow the three Rs - rinse, ratio, rest. Rinse the rice ahead of time with cold water. Repeat until water runs clear vs. the chalky white. Rinsing removes much of the starchiness
Use a 1:1 ratio water/liquid to rice to ensure proper evaporation. Note, a tight lid helps with evaporation as well
Let the rice Rest away from heat and uncovered so the condensation escapes.
If somehow your rice is still on the path to mushy world put the lid on and cook the rice on very low heat for another 5 minutes. If the rice is too wet, uncover the pot and cook over low heat to evaporate the water. Or spread the rice out onto a baking sheet and dry it in an oven-cooked on low.
Recipe variations include the use of meats or seafood, different vegetables (peas, carrots, red peppers are examples) and different types of spices. Jollof rice should be well seasoned coming from different sources.
For the party version which is somewhat smoky, allow the rice to burn a few minutes in the pan with the lid on. Though not exactly the same, this process is an alternative to the traditional way of cooking over a wood fire.
Nutrition
Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 682mg | Potassium: 1051mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 2415IU | Vitamin C: 56.9mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 4mg
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