070 Guinea – Bissau – Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice

This recipe has big flavors with simple preparation.  This rice goes great with anything.  Someone I know loves this in  breakfast burritos.

Ingredients

2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped (about 5 ounces each)

½ medium Scotch bonnet pepper (or use a habanero pepper), stem removed

½ medium onion, roughly chopped

3 small red bell peppers, roughly chopped (about 5 ounces each)

½ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 ½ teaspoons hot ground chili pepper, such as African dried chili or cayenne

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon plus 1 heaping teaspoon onion powder

2 bay leaves

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon dried thyme

2 ½ cups medium grain rice

Preparation

Step 1

In a blender, combine tomatoes, scotch bonnet pepper and onions; purée. Pour out half the purée into a bowl; set aside. Add the bell peppers to the purée remaining in the blender and pulse until smooth. Add to the mixture that was set aside and stir to combine.

Step 2

Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add blended vegetables along with the salt, curry powder, ground chili pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, bay leaves, ginger and thyme. Bring mixture to a boil.

Step 3

Stir in the rice until well mixed, then reduce the heat to low.

Step 4

Cover pot and let cook until rice is al dente, about 45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes; if rice is sauce-logged, remove the lid to cook off the excess sauce. If rice seems dry, stir in 1 to 2 cups water. Allow the rice at the bottom of the pot to char a bit to infuse it with a smoky flavor.

Original recipe found here:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018069-jollof-rice