Rice is an essential meal in a lot of homes worldwide, and in Nigeria, it is a national treasure. It is eaten by the poor and rich as it is readily available and a great source of nutrients. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates, vitamins B, E and potassium. Most of the rice we eat here is imported from Thailand but there's been a ban on rice importation by the government recently. Now we eat Nigerian grown rice, it is hardly ever filtered as it comes with a lot of dirt and stones, it takes shorter time to cook and can be soggy if cooking time is not well mastered.
An average Nigerian family eats rices at least thrice a week. The beautiful thing is it can be cooked in several unique ways, each one a mouth watering, belly filling experience. The most common Nigerian rice meals are:
- Jollof Rice
- Fried Rice
- Rice and Stew
- Native Rice
- Banga Rice
- Coconut Rice
Today I made Nigerian Jollof rice, a special spicy meal with bragging rights over every other African country's jollof. Rio Ferdinand, Keri Hilson and other international celebrities have testified of the Nigerian jollof being the greatest. Jollof literally means enjoyment so this rice meal is eaten mostly at parties and ceremonies, hence, it is also known as Party Jollof.
I didn't make the party jollof but a simple home-made jollof rice.
Ingredients
Rice
Tomatoes (15 medium sized)
Bell peppers ( 8 medium sized)
Onion (medium size bulb)
Chicken stock
Vegetable oil
Beef
Salt
Curry
Seasoning
Procedure
First, I get a big cup of rice. This cup is about 4 times bigger than the basic measuring cup.
I parboil the rice to get rid of the extra starch and dirt and left to drain in the sieve.
Next, I blended my tomatoes, bell peppers and onion.
I apologize for losing the photo for the stew. Basically, I pour some vegetable oil in a clean pot and heat it up for a minute. I add some chopped onion, the tomato paste blend and then chicken stock. It's left to cook for 10 minutes.
Now I add a teaspoonful salt, 2 teaspoonful of my seasoning powder, 2 bullion cubes and curry powder.
The aroma is divine at this point, neighbors are sniffing from their windows. I stir properly, leave to boil for a few more minutes and then add my previously parboiled rice to the stew.
Now, I leave to dry on low heat. If the heat is too much, the rice burns and doesn't soften enough. Once I'm sure it's soft, I mix properly with a wooden spatula to get all of the spices spread round the rice.
My pot of Nigerian jollof rice is ready!
It is served with fried pieces of beef for some little protein to balance out the diet. Add a cold can of soda or glass of juice by the side and enjoy this savoury meal.