Jollof rice is one of the most famous dishes in West Africa, and famously, each country thinks their take on the dish is is the best. Jollof rice is made with garlic, ginger, onions and habanero / scotch bonnet peppers (you can customize the heat levels), and it often accompanies roasted meat or fish dishes, and sides like fried plantains. It is considered one of the national dishes of Nigeria, and it is to that country to which we turn today for our Jollof rice journey.
Yewande Komolafe is a NYC-based chef who was raised in Lagos, Nigeria. She previously shared her 10 Essential Nigerian recipes with the New York Times, one of which being Jollof rice. We have enjoyed Jollof rice many times in restaurants, but never tried to make it ourselves. However, after watching Yewande Komolafe’s video, we knew we had to take the plunge. Her Jollof rice recipe [here] was easy to follow, and we even had most of the necessary ingredients on hand already. One note: the recipe calls for parboiled rice, and if you are just using regular rice, you will want to add more liquid than the recipe calls for in order to properly cook the rice. The end result was delicious: hearty, spiced and spicy, thanks to the scotch bonnet. As she says in the video, this would make a great meal for a crowd alongside other hearty Nigerian recipes. We served our Jollof Rice with chicken thighs roasted in Obe Ata (which is the same taste profile as the Jollof Rice) and fried plantains.
