Description
This is a savory and flavorful recipe for Jollof rice, a popular dish in West Africa. This one-pot rice dish is made with a unique blend of vegetables and spices cooked together with Basmati rice, making it an ultimate comfort food. It’s spicy, acidic, sweet, savory, with hints of smoke from the paprika.
Ingredients
1 1/4 Tomato
1 Red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1 Habanero pepper
1 Red Fresno chili (or a red jalapeno)
2 cloves Garlic
Small piece of minced Ginger
2 cups of Cold fresh water
Olive oil
1 Red onion, diced
Salt to taste
Tomato paste
1 tsp Smoked paprika
1 tsp Curry powder
1 tsp Ground cumin
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Dried thyme
2 cups of Basmati rice, uncooked
1 Bay leaf
1 spoon Chicken bouillon paste
Garnish: Freshly sliced green onions, Cilantro
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the tomato, red bell pepper, habanero pepper, red Fresno chili, garlic cloves, minced ginger, and water. Blend until completely smooth and set aside.
- Heat a good amount of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the diced red onion along with a pinch of salt. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until the onions start to turn translucent.
- Create a space in the middle of the pan, add the tomato paste, and spread it out. Cook it, stirring for a couple of minutes to take the raw edge off and toast it slightly.
- Start adding your spices and herbs: smoked paprika, curry powder, ground cumin, black pepper, turmeric, and dried thyme. Stir together and cook for another 2 minutes to wake up the spices and infuse the olive oil with the flavors.
- Add the Basmati rice to the pan and stir to ensure every grain of rice is coated in the oily, spicy tomato paste mixture.
- Toss in a bay leaf and a spoonful of chicken bouillon paste.
- Pour in your blended tomato and pepper mixture, stir, and turn the heat up to high. Wait for it to start simmering.
- Once simmering, cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, and let it simmer for 20 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, leave the pan covered, and let it rest for 12 minutes.
- After resting, uncover the pan and fluff the rice with a fork.
- Transfer the rice to a serving dish, garnish with freshly sliced green onions and cilantro, and it’s ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Category: Main Course, Side Dish
- Method: One Pot, Stovetop
- Cuisine: West African
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 servings
- Calories: 410
- Sugar: 4g
- Sodium: 660mg
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Carbohydrates: 75g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 9g