I intend for this jollof rice recipe to be as helpful as possible and to also provide a few helpful tips along the way. Right.. let’s go!
key facts:
- Serves 4
- Time: 1 hour (Prep: 15 mins, Cooking: 45 mins)
- Difficulty: Medium
- This is how I make my jollof rice, but it’s worth knowing that everyone makes it slightly differently.
ingredients (cost £1.09 per person)
- 300g Organic Long-Grain White Rice (Or Brown rice; not basmati rice) – 81p (£1.35 for 500g from Tesco)
- Water
- 100ml Rapeseed Oil (You could also use Sunflower, Coconut, Palm Oil; not Olive Oil) – 30p (£1.50 for 500ml from Tesco)
- 1 Organic Medium Onion – approx. 16p (63p for 500g/approx. 4 onions from Lidl)
- 1 Organic Large Red ‘Bell’ Pepper – 67p (2 Peppers for £1.34 from Asda)
- 400g Organic Chopped Tomatoes – 80p (80p for a 390g carton from Tesco)
- 1 Organic Carrot – approx. 7p (Currently 49p for 700g at Tesco)
- 1 Kallo Organic Low Salt Vegetable Stock Cube (10g) – 20p (£1.20 for 6 cubes from Tesco/Sainsburys/Waitrose)
- 1 level teaspoon (approx. 4g) Sea Salt – approx. 3p (89p from Aldi for 110g)
- 1 heaped teaspoon (approx. 4g) Organic Curry Powder – approx. 22p (£1.99 for 37g from Waitrose or you could source from your local wholefood store)
- 1 level teaspoon (approx. 2g) Organic Dried Thyme – approx. 34p (£1.69 for 10g from Waitrose or you could source from your local wholefood store)
- 1 level teaspoon (approx. 2g) Organic Bay Leaves – approx. 76p (£1.89 for 5g from Waitrose)
- (Optional Heat)* – 1/2 Scotch Bonnet (a type of chilli pepper, if you don’t like ‘hot’ food, you may want to omit this)
- (Optional Spices)* – Add any others spices and herbs to your liking. I like to add no more than a level teaspoon of each of the following: basil, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, nutmeg, paprika
*Not included in the per person cost calculation
equipment:
- 2 Pans
- Stirrer
- Knife
- Tin opener (tin)/scissors (carton)
- Blender
- Teaspoon
method:
- Weigh out approx. 300g of long-grain rice (not basmati) and put in a large pan. Cover with water and put on a medium-high heat.
- De-skin and chop up a white onion into smaller chunks (e.g quarters). De-seed and chop up a red pepper. De-skin the carrot and chop into large chunks. Tip: Put the excess veg into a container in the freezer and use to make your own vegetable broth at a later date (instead of buying one ready made).
- Add 100ml of oil (sunflower/rapeseed/coconut/palm oil) to a large pan and put on medium-high heat. Tip: Use vegetable oil with palm oil, as using palm oil on its own is very expensive but still needed to add to the flavour of the jollof rice.
- Add the chopped onion, chopped pepper, chopped carrot, scotch bonnet (if using), 400g chopped tomatoes into a blender (I use NutriBullet). Blend until smooth in consistency.
- Add the blended mixture to a container big enough to contain it all.
- When the oil in the large pan is starting to make some noise (spitting/bubbling noises), put some marigold gloves on for protection from the very hot oil (ensure your skin is well covered). Now in a controlled manner, (reasonably) quickly pour in the blended mix. Tip: Not too quick, not too slow is best (should pour it all out within a few seconds). Just be careful as you are dealing with oil. Protection is key.We don’t want you getting burnt! We fry the ‘onion stew’ in this way to give it a distinct taste that jollof rice is known for.
- Boil some water in a kettle. Add into the container (previously used to contain the blended mix) the following: 1 vegetable stock cube, 1 level teaspoon sea salt, 1 heaped teaspoon curry powder, 1 level teaspoon thyme, and any other spices listed that you may like to use. Tip: You can add any herbs you like and omit any of the ones I listed that you don’t like. As a starting point you could use these ingredients the first time and then when you cook it again experiment a bit more with flavour.
- Add the boiling water from the kettle to the container and use a fork to mix the herbs well and ensure no lumpy parts. When ready, add this to the tomato stew and stir the well to ensure an even mix.
- Turn off the heat for the pot of rice. Drain the excess water away. Use a large spoon to carefully add the rice to the tomato stew, one spoonful at a time. Stir well. Turn to a low-medium heat.
- When the rice is soft (to your liking, taste test is helpful) and most of the water content has been absorbed (should take 20-25 minutes), turn off the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes. Tip: If the rice is not cooked, but the water content has gone down/the rice is sticking to the bottom of the pan, add more water.
- Dish up and enjoy! Tip: Jollof rice works well as both a main and a side. I really enjoy jollof rice with a fish fillet (salmon/haddock) and some peas/sweetcorn. Also works well with fried plantain.
P.S. If you have any leftover, put it in an airtight container in the fridge. It will be good for at least 2 days.
Hopefully I have managed to show you it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to eat delicious organic food everyday and not just as a one-off.
Prices correct at the time of publication.
Have you made jollof rice before? Have you tried this recipe? I would love to know your thoughts and any suggestions for improvement in the comments below.
Originally published on: 15/7/18
