Where's the Party At? ~ Jollof Rice with Dodo

David: “Wetin dey happen, omo I dey throway party tommorow o.”

Bruno: “Ehhh, rice go dey?”

David: “No, we no dey cook rice o, na just some finger foods go dey”

Bruno: “Ehhh, I go dey busy sha, I no go fit make am”

David: “I just dey joke o, Jollof rice go dey”

Bruno: “OK, I go postpone my runs, I go fit come!”

The truth is, where there is a party, there is Jollof rice.

Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa, more than 250 ethnic groups, languages and customs with only one dish to unit them all -- Jollof Rice! This dish is popular all over West Africa and it’s considered to have originated amongst the Wolof tribe, which can be found in Gambia, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria. There are many variations of Jollof rice -- here is my own recipe for this scrumptious dish.

Miss Lyn’s Important Tip: use your sense of smell and taste while you cook. Always taste your food while cooking.

Prepare the stew (similar to my chicken stew), you will need:

1 large tomato

2 medium onions

6 scotch bonnet hot peppers

2 cloves of garlic

1 can of crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon of thyme

1 tablespoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of onion salt

2 maggi cubes

1 large bay leaf

Salt to taste

Vegetable oil

4 – 5 cups of long grain rice (I use Mr. Goudas)

1 box of chicken broth

4 plantains

Heat on medium-high a healthy amount of vegetable oil in a large pot. Fry one thinly sliced onion, 2 chopped hot peppers and 2 thinly sliced garlic cloves. Cook until tender (about 4-5 minutes).

Blend together the tomato, one onion, 4 hot peppers and the can of crushed tomatoes.

Pour blender into the pot and stir. 

Prepare your chicken or beef (see my chicken stew recipe for details on how to cook the chicken).

Add the spices to the stew. Thyme, curry, onion salt, maggi, bay leaf, salt to taste. Allow this to simmer on medium-low for 25 minutes.

In another large pot wash the rice a few times to remove some of the starch and drain all the water.

Pour 4 cups of the chicken broth into the rice along with 4 cups of the stew (you can always add more if you need it). Place the pot on high and stir (add more thyme if desired).

Important note: only the best tasting Jollof rice will burn at the bottom. Stir the pot a couple of times while it cooks. After 25 minutes, reduce the temperature to medium and taste to see if the rice needs more stew or broth. Leave the pot on medium heat for another 20 – 30 minutes or until the rice is dry. Jollof rice should be dry, not wet or sticky.

As for the plantains, make sure they are ripe. Ripe plantains are soft to touch, black on the outside and very sweet on the inside.

Cut the plantains and fry until done (fried plantains is dodo).

Serve the Jollof rice with some stew on the side along with the dodo and fried chicken.