Chef John's Jollof Rice
This is a foolproof recipe for cooking Jollof rice, West Africa’s most popular dish, which can be served as a side dish or a main.
Ingredients
- 1 largeripe tomato, cored, quartered
- 1 largered bell pepper, seeded, roughly chopped
- 1whole habanero pepper, stem removed
- 1whole fresno chili, or jalapeño, stem removed
- 4 clovesgarlic, peeled
- 1 tablespoonminced ginger
- 2 cupswater
- ⅓ cupolive oil
- 1red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoonsalt, plus more to taste
- ¼ cuptomato paste
- 2 tablespoonssmoked paprika
- 1 teaspooncurry powder
- 1 teaspooncumin
- 1 teaspoondried thyme
- ½ teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoonturmeric
- 2 ¼ cupsbasmati rice
- 1bay leaf
- 1 tablespoonchicken bouillon paste
- ¼ cupchopped green onion, for garnish, optional
- ¼ cupchopped cilantro, for garnish, optional
Directions
- 1
Combine tomato, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, fresno chili, garlic, ginger, and water in a blender for the sauce. Blend on high until smooth and set aside.
- 2
Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and salt and sauté until onion starts to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Clear space in the middle of the pan, add tomato paste, and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with paprika, curry powder, cumin, thyme, pepper, and turmeric; continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes until everything is well combined.
- 3
Turn off the heat, and stir in the rice, making sure every grain of rice is coated with the oil-tomato mixture. Add bay leaf and chicken bouillon paste.
- 4
Turn heat to high, stir in tomato sauce, and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not remove the lid or stir rice.
- 5
Turn off heat after 20 minutes, and set the timer for 12 minutes. Allow rice to sit and do not remove the lid.
- 6
After the 12 minutes are up, remove lid, and fluff rice with a fork, separating all the grains. Serve garnished with green onions and chopped cilantro.