Have you noticed that your home-cooked jollof rice never really tastes like the party jollof rice served at parties? In this article, we would be sharing the secret to making delicious party jollof rice with you.
Ingredients:
Four Cups of Rice
Half Can of Plum Tomatoes/ 2 Medium Size Tomatoes
One and half Scotch Bonnet (Ata Rodo)
Beef or Chicken Stock
120g Tomato Paste
Two Onions
100ml Cooking oil
Two Tablespoons of Butter
One Tablespoon of grounded Ginger
Half Teaspoon Curry powder and Thyme
Half Teaspoon any seasoning of your choosing
Three Knorr Chicken cubes
Two Teaspoons White pepper
Three Bay Leaves
One Medium Size Tomato
Salt to Taste.
Preparation:
1. Blend the red bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet and an onion to a smooth paste and set aside.
2. Pour the cooking oil into a large pot, place on the gas at low heat, add half sliced onion into it and let it fry till it becomes fragrant.
3. Add the blended pepper, tomato paste, Knorr cubes, curry powder, one teaspoon of white pepper and bay leaves. Cover and let it fry till the oil begins to float to the top. This should take 15 to 20 minutes.
4. While that’s still frying, wash your rice thoroughly to rid it of starch and set aside. If you are parboiling, don’t parboil for more than 8 minutes. The rice should still be very firm and not soft, wash with warm water and set aside.
5. When oil floats to the top of the stew, add the chicken/ meat stock, cover and let it fry for another 8-10 minutes.
6. Add the washed rice (It’s better to transfer the rice to another big pot to enable you check the amount of stew you are adding to the rice. You don’t want it clogged when done).
7. Stir thoroughly, make sure the stew is just a little above the rice after stirring.
8. When that’s fully combined, add the butter, ginger and the remaining teaspoon of white pepper. Stir the mixture.
9. Cover and let it cook till the rice softens. Stir every now and then using a WOODEN spoon; this prevents clumps and doesn’t break the rice up.
10. Add the stock or water little by little as Jollof rice needs steam to cook and not water. The rice will definitely burn a little to give the meal its smoky taste.
11. When the rice is soft enough, add the onion rings and sliced tomato and stir. Onions and tomatoes should be added just a couple of minutes before it is finally done.
12. Turn properly, then switch off the gas and leave to steam with the remaining heat for two minutes.
Voila! Your Party Jollof Rice is ready!
