# Nigerian Jollof Rice
I personally love Jollof Rice and I am so delighted to share the recipe with you. Nigerian Jollof Rice is a rich and incredibly tasty west African one-pot Meal. When cooking Jellof rice, building a flavor base is very important.
# Ingredients
- 4 cups long basmati Rice
- 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
- 2 big onions
- 240 grams tomato paste
- 4-5 redball pepper (tatashe)
- 4 medium-size tomatoes/ one can chopped tomatoes
- 3 pieces Scotch bonnet pepper (Atarodo) or more if yours is not hot
- 1 cup chicken/beef stock
- 2 garlic cloves
- 50 grams butter/margarine
- 3-4 pieces bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon curry
- 1 tablespoon thyme
- 8 cubes seasoning
- 1 tablespoon salt
# Tools
- Cooking pot
- Foil paper
- Knife
- Turning Stick
# Method
Place your cooking pot on medium heat, add the vegetable oil, the diced onions, the tomato paste, and bay leaves. Fry them together for about 2 minutes until they become translucent (do not stop stirring to avoid burning).
Add your blended ingredients (Tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper, garlic, onions, and red ball pepper) and stir well. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, stir well and go ahead to add your chicken/beef stock and stir well.
Add spices (curry, thyme, salt, seasoning, and margarine) Then cover to cook for 5 minutes. Open and stir very well, then go ahead to add the washed rice, and stir well in the mixture. Cover with foil paper, reduce the heat, and allow to cook for the first 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, open and taste for salt, if it still requires more add, and cover to cook for another 20-25 minutes.
At this juncture, the rice should be soft and tender. Stir well to the bottom of the pot with a knife or turning stick ( I prefer knife, sometimes the turning stick breaks the rice in the process of turning). Cover and increase the heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, your smoky party Jollof Rice is ready. Enjoy while still warm with any chilled drink of your choice
# Tips
Don’t be in haste to dump your ingredients in the pot otherwise, you will end up with what we call ”concoction”. Each step counts so try to do each of the steps in detail. This portion can feed 8 persons conveniently.
# Author
This recipe was contributed by Ireti Ogedengbe.