Jollof Rice

It is Christmas special and Jollof rice is almost a most in most Nigerian homes on Christmas day. Jollof rice and fried rice is always top of the list for celebrations, today we would be sharing recipe on how to make simple jollof rice and make your family and visitors happy.
You can also make both of them and serve together. As it is for a lot of recipes there are several ways to prepare this but i will be sharing how i make mine, pretty straight forward and easy...Wink

Ingredients

• rice
• chicken stock
• butter
• tomatoes blended
• tomatoes paste
• seasoning
• salt
• pepper
• curry
• thyme
• rosemary
• onions
• vegetables (Optional, you can make your jollof rice without vegetables but they make it look colourful and gives it a nice taste) - carrots diced, green pepper diced, runner beans cut in small circles, green peas, sweet corn.

Lets Cook
1a. There are two ways i usually make it depending on my mood...lol. If you usually parboil your rice at this point you must have already parboiled the rice and have it in a sifter. Put a pot big enough to hold the rice on heat. Pour a little oil and butter, when it is hot add the onions and then the blended tomatoes, tomatoes paste and stir for a while. Pour in the chicken stock, add salt, pepper, curry, thyme, rosemary, seasoning and water. Allow to boil very well so the raw tomatoes taste will no longer be there. Pour in your rice and cover. Allow to cook.
1b. This is the second method. Put a pot big enough for the rice on heat. Add the meat stock, blended tomatoes, tomatoes paste, water, salt, curry, thyme, rosemary, seasoning, pepper, and butter. Allow to boil very very well. Add your washed raw rice or your parboiled rice. Cover and allow to cook.
2. Open the pot and check if the rice is cooked if it requires more water add, taste and adjust seasoning. When you want to turn or stir the rice make sure you use only wooden spatula what we call Eba stick...hehehe...do not use iron spoon. Make sure the heat is circulating well if your are cooking a large quantity to avoid some parts getting cooked more than the others, sometimes what you can do is cover the top with a thick nylon bag or the rice bag itself and then put the lid on. That does the trick of making the heat not escape the pot and thereby allowing it cook evenly
3. Taste and make sure all your ingredients are working well together. When it is cooked remove from heat and don't overcook it because the heat in the cooler will heat it up more.
4. If you are using vegetables. Put a pan on fire to steam it. Add a little oil and butter. Add the onions stir for about a minute and pour in all the vegetables. Add very little salt and seasoning.
5. Pour in the vegetables into the rice and turn gently avoid mashing. Start putting it into the cooler and pour vegetables on top without turning it.
Your jollof rice is ready to be served with your salad, moi moi, plantain with chicken or turkey...Enjoy

Jollof Rice and Turkey

Jollof Rice and Fried Rice with Turkey