How to prepare Jollof rice with veggies

How to prepare jollof rice with veggies.

Hello friends! For this post we’re heading to West Africa for a rice dish called Jollof that is commonly served at parties and other special events. Jollof rice is usually served with chicken, but it can also be served with any meat/fish of your choice . Jollof rice has its origin in Senegal, namely with the Wolof empire that had a strong influence over much of West Africa at that time.Jollof rice gets its name from the Wolof empire! Now the flavors for Jollof rice vary by each region; each country in West Africa has their own jellof recipe .For this article we’ll be highlighting the Nigerian version of jollof rice.

Ingredients:
750g long grain parboiled rice
500mls Tomato Stew
5 medium carrots
1 big green bell pepper
1 whole chicken (hen)
Chilli pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
2 medium onions
3 stock cubes
2 teaspoons curry powder (Nigerian curry powder)
1 tablespoon thyme

PROCESS

Prepare the tomato stew.

Tomato stew

Pour the fresh tomato blend into a pot and cook at high heat till almost all the water has dried. If you have the watery tinned/boxed tomato puree, add these to the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook till the water in the tomato puree have dried as much as possible.

1. Add the vegetable oil, the chopped onions and the thick tomato puree that you mixed in step 2 above (if it's the puree you are using). Stir very well.
2. Fry at very low heat and stir at short intervals till the oil has completely separated from the tomato puree. A well fried tomato puree will also have streaks of oil, unlike when you first added the oil and it was a smooth mix of the tomato puree and oil. Taste the fried tomato puree to make sure that the raw tomato taste is gone. With time and experience, you can even tell that the tomato puree is well fried from the aroma alone.
3. If you are happy with the taste and you are sure that all the water has dried as much as possible, pour out the excess vegetable oil.
4. If you are not using it immediately, leave to cool down, dish in containers and store in the freezer.
   To use, bring out from the freezer and allow to defrost at room temperature and use in your Nigerian Jollof Rice

Preparing the chicken

Wash and cut the chicken into pieces. Boil the chicken pieces with thyme, Seasoning and 2 bulbs of onions (chopped). The cooking time depends on the type of chicken.

Note: Roosters or cockerels cook much faster than hens, but hens are definitely tastier. When done, grill the chicken pieces in an oven. You may also fry it. This is to give it a golden look which is more presentable especially if you have guests for dinner.

Parboil the rice.

Rinse the parboiled rice and put in a sieve to drain.

Process (making the Jollof rice):

Pour the chicken stock and the tomato stew into a sizeable pot and leave to boil.
Add the drained parboiled rice, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. The
water level should be the same level of the rice. This is to ensure that all the water dries up by the time the rice is cooked.

Cover the pot and leave to cook on low or medium heat. This way the rice does not burn before the water dries up.
When the water is almost dry, add the diced carrots, cover the pot and continue cooking.
When the water is completely dry, turn off the heat. Add the diced green pepper and stir the rice with a wooden spoon.

Note: We add the green pepper at the end so it maintains its crunchiness.

And that’s how it done. Enjoy your tasty meal with a cold drink, grilled assorted meats and some fried sweet plantain.Jollof rice also goes with salad or coleslaw.