Name: Nigerian Jollof
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 4 cups rice (Long grain rice( I use Uncle Bens)); 5 medium Tomato(See note) ((Or you can use 16 ounce canned crushed tomato)); 6 ounces Tomato Paste; 1 large onion; 1 large red bell pepper; 3-4 Haberno Peper (alter to your spice level); 1/3 cup oil (vegetable or canola oi); 2 bay leaves; tsp Oregano; 1 packet Goya Sazon Seasoning; 2-3 Maggie Cubes ((You can use Vegetable Flavor cubes if vegetarian) ); Salt and Peper (to taste); 1-2 teaspoon Curry power; 4-6 cups of chicken broth ((or vegetable broth))

I’m participating in the 2020 Juneteenth Cookout Takeover. This initiative was established to encourage the celebration of Juneteenth – a jubilee of freedom to commemorate the end of slavery – and to amplify the food traditions of black culinary creatives. This year my employer has recognized it as a holiday and I am happy to have it off! I plan to relax, support some new black business on my radar which is nothing new to me. I will also be recreating some of these amazing recipes!

Juneteenth (a merge of the words/date June Nineteenth) marks the date in 1865 that the last enslaved people learned of their freedom.

And for over 150 years since, Black American families, home-cooks, chefs, and culinarians have commemorated the summer holiday with a wide range of food traditions that tell a story of the perseverance of a people. Click here for the full list of the amazing recipes for the Juneteenth Cookout Takeover! Can’t wait to see you all recreate this delicious Jollof Rice. Need some other ideas, be sure to check out the full list!

I love sharing some of my favorite Nigerian meals. If you remember this Post, I shared with you a popular African dish called Puff Puff. I also teased you with pictures of the fantastic Jollof rice. I wasn’t quite ready to share the recipe yet as I was still working on tweaking somethings. Like most African cookers when my mom told me the method it went something like ” oh, you add a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. A spoonful of this” Needless to say the first time I made Jollof rice it was a disaster! I also subsisted brown rice for the white, because I wanted to have a healthier alternative, and no, I did not consulate my mom before making this decision!

I was one of the people who honestly did not cook a lot of Nigerian food because I had my mom in a close distance and whenever I had a craving I could call her up and have this meal ready for me when I visited next. Now that I am on the west coast, things are a little trickier. I started off making some popular recipes such as Egusi or Efo Riro. After a few trial and errors, I noticed that once you have an amazing stew, you have mastered at least half of the recipe. What comes next is boiling your meat and adding your veggies. I won’t say I am a master as of yet, but your girl has gotten a few great reviews on her meals 🙂 We won’t start today on the battle of who has the BEST Jollof rice…because we all know Nigerian Jollof is the best.

Basic stew Ingredients for your stew base

So if some of you are not familiar with what Jollof is, and haven’t had the amazing opportunity to be introduced to this delectable delicious I am not even going to call Jollof a side dish, as Jollof is the real deal and can be a main dish for sure.

Jollof rice is a rice that is cooked in a stew and all that flavor gets absorbed into the rice, and you get a party in your mouth basically.

Needless to say, this dish is amazing and should become a staple in your house. I promise this isn’t as hard as it seems. The hardest thing you will have to do is wait for that stew to cook down which can take some time, be patient it’s worth it! So give this recipe a try and let me know what you think! I’m excited to continue to share some recipes that have been passed down onto me from my mom. I promise this dish isn’t as intimidating as it seems!

Nigerian Jollof

A traditional staple in most West African Homes. Jollof rice is a delicious one-pot meal cooked in a flavorful stew with tomatoes, peppers, onion, spices, and chicken stock.

Course main

Cuisine Nigerian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

4 cups rice Long grain rice( I use Uncle Bens)
5 medium Tomato(See note) (Or you can use 16 ounce canned crushed tomato)
6 ounces Tomato Paste
1 large onion
1 large red bell pepper
3-4 Haberno Peper alter to your spice level
1/3 cup oil vegetable or canola oi
2 bay leaves
tsp Oregano
1 packet Goya Sazon Seasoning
2-3 Maggie Cubes (You can use Vegetable Flavor cubes if vegetarian)
Salt and Peper to taste
1-2 teaspoon Curry power
4-6 cups of chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

Instructions

1) Chop your peppers and tomatoes and add to a blender and combine until smooth
2) Add oil to a medium-sized pot and turn heat to a medium-low temperature.
2) Add your stew to a medium-sized pop on medium heat. Add all your seasonings + tomato paste. Let this simmer for 20-30 minutes. Check your stew often to ensure it is not burning
3) Wash your rice thoroughly in a strainer to remove that additional starch. Set aside.
4) Once the stew has reduced in size, and it no longer tastes sour( As the tomatoes have cooked down) add your rice. Still the rice and stew well.
5) Add your chicken broth to help break up the rice. The mixture should be not as thick now that we have added the chicken broth.
6) Adjust the heat to medium-low and allow the rice to cook until it is no longer hard. This should take anywhere from 20-30 minutes depending on your rice. Check your rice once it hits the 20 min. mark if the rice is still hard to add more of the broth to allow it to cook. If you are out of broth you can use water. During this step also adjust your seasonings and see what else is missing.

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