The smell of Nigerian party jollof rice is so pleasing. The trick is getting your rice to taste a little smoky and you are there! The smoky jollof rice is the Nigerian party jollof. The best Nigerian party jollof rice recipe is super simple if you do it right!
Using the right ingredients for smoky jollof rice is the pathway to making this amazing dish.
Rice, meats, and Nigerian spices for jollof rice are the secrets to having a delicious party jollof rice.
The Jollof Rice wars have been raging for years. Food enthusiasts have debated the difficulty of finding the best jollof rice in West African cuisine. The term jollof rice or where it originates from is still unclear but I know it is as old as I am. Jollof was something prevalent in many Nigerian homes and still is.
Many people feel excited about the unique or various ways they can prepare this versatile dish.
I have heard of Ghanaian jollof rice, Senegalese jollof rice, and Nigerian jollof rice. Though I have tried Nigerian jollof rice at different homes and events, I have not tried it from other countries.
I have tried Nigerian jollof rice at different homes and events, but I have not tried jollof rice from other countries.
In Nigeria, ceremonies always have jollof rice served from thermic boxes called ‘coolers’. Another recipe like fried rice, cooked in chicken stock and fried with vegetables, is also common.
People often serve jollof rice with Moi Moi, also known as bean steamed pudding, fried plantain, and coleslaw.
The smell coming from the jollof rice makes guests happy, including myself.
Living in Portugal, I have tried all kinds of rice. This was uncommon when I lived in Nigeria as to us Nigerians, rice was rice.
But living here, I have faced making choices of different rice types. I tried, made mistakes, and learned how to apply each rice in my recipes.
I found many kinds of rice such as Basmati rice, Brown, Parboiled, Carolina, Wild, Thai, and Jasmine rice.
My Portuguese husband usually cooks agulha rice but when I tried it first with jollof rice, it was pure disaster. It turned out like pudding as it was exceedingly high in starch. For Nigerian jollof rice, I use long-grain parboiled rice.
I learned from my mother-in-law that using short-grain Carolina rice is better for desserts or recipes with more liquid.
In a future post, I will share a Portuguese recipe for vegetable rice “arroz de legumes”. There is another recipe for meat or seafood rice which will be coming up soon.
These are recipes cooked with rice and a mix of vegetables, meat or seafood. The main idea is to leave a lot of sauce in the cooked rice and allow it to absorb.
Coming back to cooking jollof rice, it is not a difficult dish but it is rather time-consuming. From boiling the chicken or beef to making the sauce, you can be sure to have a lot of time spent before the meal is ready.
TIPS AND TRICKS
How to prepare Nigerian jollof rice is easy. Following the steps below and the cooking process will ensure you have a well-prepared tasty meal while saving time.
On a tray, I roughly cut some red bell peppers, red onions, tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper, and ginger, and roast them for the sauce. When the vegetables roast and wilt, blend them into a pureé. To make peppered chicken, roughly chop the roasted veggies and use. This should take about 15 minutes.
Use more of bell peppers than plum tomatoes. You can also use guajillo chili pods if you have them available.
Use your spices. Season and cook your meat with spices and bay leaves. The cooking time of the jollof rice depends on the readiness of your meat stock.
Wash and soak your long-grain parboiled rice in boiling water and cover.
Fry the meat in vegetable oil and use the same oil to make your sauce.
Trap heat with a sheet of aluminum foil. This ensures the rice cooks faster, with minimal stock, and stays separate. Cover your pot lid with an aluminum sheet and reduce your heat.
Easy Nigerian Party Jollof Rice
The perfect jollof rice that is simple, yet tasty. Secret of seperate grains can be found in this recipe!
Ingredients
- 3 cups parboiled Rice
- 4 cups hot boiling water
- Chicken cut in pieces
- 4 cups hot boiling water
- 1 medium-sized red onion for the jollof sauce
- 1 medium sized white onion for the chicken and stock
- 2 medium-sized red bell peppers
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 medium-sized scotch bonnet pepper
- 3 fingers of ginger
- 1 small Tomato
- Guajillo chilli pepper
- thyme
- Curry
- Seasoning cubes
- Vegetables for garnishing - carrots, spring onion,
Directions
- Step 1 Thoroughly wash your chicken. Place it in a pot and season with salt, onions, garlic, pepper, curry and thyme, seasoning cubes. Pour over 1 cup of hot water and allow to boil. When cooked for about an 10mins, pour in the rest of the hot water till tender.
- Step 2 My preference is the hen which here in Portugal, they call galinha as it is tougher and tastier.
- Step 3 While the chicken is cooking, start with your veggies for the sauce of the rice. Wash and roughly chop these veggies. Toss in an oven tray the veggies except the guajillo chilli pepper. Bake them in the oven for about 7 minutes or till they roast and wilt.
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Step 4
In another bowl, pour boiling water over the guajillo chilli pepper and cover them for about 2 minutes. This makes them wilt and easier to deseed.
For the rice, boil some water and pour it over the already washed parboiled rice. Cover it in an airtight container. The water level should be the same as the rice so as not to allow the rice to oversoak. - Step 5 Place your roasted veggies and guajillo chilli pepper in a blender and pulse to give it a rough chop.
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Step 6
In a deep pot, pour some vegetable oil and when heated, put in your onions and then half of roughly chopped veggies. After a minute or so, put in your cooked chicken and toss around the sauce to make the peppered chicken.
Meanwhile, blend the rest of the veggies into a puree. -
Step 7
Remove the peppered chicken and make the sauce for the jollof rice by pouring in the rest of your blended vegetables into your skillet.
Fry dry the sauce, add the chicken stock and finally the pre-soaked rice. Cook and reduce heat to allow the rice cook thoroughly. Pour over the cooked rice, cut carrots and spring onions for the garnishing. -
Step 8
Serve rice with peppered chicken and fried plantain.
Enjoy!
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The easy step-by-step video of this amazing meal can be found on my YouTube channel.
HAPPY COOKING!
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