NIGERIAN JOLLOF

Let's start from the pepper mix ratio, cos this determines the quality f your jollof rice. The pepper to tomato mix ratio , the perfect tomato mix ratio contains 60% tatashe (bell peppers), 20% fresh tomatoes, and 20% onions and garlic which gives a total of 100% for your jollof mix.

To get the best out of your peppers and tomatoes , you have to roast them either in an oven , air fryer or nonstick pan. But I'll be showing you how to do that with a non stick pan. In your pan add some vegetable oil . For more information about the pepper mix ratio kindly check my blog post.

Then place the ingredients on the pan face down and allow to roast for 20 minutes. Don't abandon it on fire , pay attention to it so you know when to flip it so that both sides of each ingredients roast properly.

The second top secret to get the perfect jollof rice is in your meat stock, I always prefer to use goat meat because it has a very rich flavour on it's own. To get a rich stock season the protein with more herbs like ,basil thyme, rosemary, some nutmeg, curry , seasoning powder, cayenne pepper and chopped onions. Mix that and allow to cook for 10 minutes or till its soft and tender.

After 20 minutes of roasting the peppers on low heat it is finally ready. This is how it should look , using an oven will also give you the same result.

Now proceed to blend the roasted pepper. Note do not use water to blend it it's a taboo in the jollof rice community (lol)

Blend it into a smooth paste and this is the perfect consistency for the jollof rice. Turn that into a bowl and set aside.

For the rice I like to boil some hot water and pour it into the rice, ill allow that to sit for 10 minutes before I rinse off with some cold water to wash it properly with some salt.. This helps my rice to be a bit soft before I cook it. This also depends on the kind of rice you're using, you can also choose to parboil the rice the way you like.

When your meat is ready sieve out the meat stock and set aside. we'll be using that for our jollof.

In your clean dry pot go in with some vegetable oil, add some onions for flavour ,then fry your meat for 5 minutes, Not too dry but brown enough and t still has moisture.

Take out the meat and set it aside , we'll be using the oil used for frying to make the jollof. You see what I did there, there is no way your jollof will not come out flavourful and delicious .

Now go in with some chopped onions and minced garlic. Saute for 1 minute then go in with 1 cooking spoon of tomato paste.

Cook the tomato paste till the oil and paste are no more separated or when the taste is no more tangy.

Go in with your jollof mix and and stir to cook for 10 minutes. Another pointer to note about jollof rice is never to cook with plain water.

Season the sauce with the same seasoning used to prepare the stock and season this sauce very welllll season very well, then add 2 bay leafs. Mix to combine.

Allow this to cook till you see the oil floating. When your sauce is already looking like stew you'll know that your'e well on your way to greatness.

Now go in with your washed semi cooked rice and stir that in.

Add your stock , another pointer to note is that the water used to cook the rice should be at the same level of the rice or one cup above the rice. This is also influenced by how cooked your parboiled rice is

Now cover the rice to cook on extremely low heat for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes the smoky jollof rice is smoking oo lol . check to see if the rice is soft enough if not add more of the broth and cover to cook till it's ready. If your rice burns that is normal, that is why I advice you cook 2 cups above the initial cups of rice intended .

Now go in with your vegetables ( which is highly optional) and some butter, the butter is optional but it adds some shine and extra flavour to your rice. Stir the butter in to melt then your jollof rice is ready!

Serve with your fried meat and enjoy!