Jollof – West Africa’s Pride in Rice

A freshly blended mixture contains a great deal of water. It smells fresh and a little raw, and if the rice is added too soon, it ends up cooking in a thin vegetable soup. Reducing the mixture first, then frying it with onion, oil and tomato purée, gives it a fuller flavour. The colour deepens, the bubbles become heavier, and the sauce begins to behave more like a cohesive mass than a juice.

The oil matters both for frying and for distributing flavour around the rice. There is no need to make the dish greasy, but drastically reducing the amount will affect the result. Small beads of oil around the edges of the sauce can be a sign that much of the water has evaporated. They are not, however, an exact gauge; tomatoes and peppers vary in water content, and different pots allow liquid to evaporate at different rates.

Chilli contributes more than heat. Scotch bonnet has a fruity, floral aroma that works particularly well with the acidity of tomatoes and the sweetness of peppers. In Sweden, habanero is often easier to find and works as a substitute, although its flavour is not identical. Start cautiously if you are not used to it. Removing the pale membranes reduces much of the heat, but individual chillies vary enormously. Wash your hands thoroughly afterwards and avoid touching your eyes.

Curry powder in this pot is a spice blend, not a claim that the food is Indian. Such blends have become everyday ingredients in many Nigerian kitchens through historical trading and cultural contacts. A mild blend containing, for example, coriander seed, turmeric and cumin works well here. Ingredients vary between brands, so choose a balanced blend rather than a very hot, salty one. Thyme lends its dry, herbal note; bay leaves add quiet aromatic depth.

Stock cubes and stock powders are common in contemporary cooking and should not be treated as cheating. Their salt content does vary considerably, though. Taste the base before adding extra salt. It should be well seasoned, since the rice will mellow the overall flavour, but it need not taste like seawater for the finished dish to have punch.

Once the rice goes in, a different kind of cooking begins. Now the grains must absorb flavour and liquid without the bottom burning before the centre is done. A heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid makes a big difference. An overly thin pot creates fierce hot spots; a loose lid lets the essential steam escape into the kitchen.

Rinse the rice to remove loose surface starch, then drain it. Our recipe uses parboiled rice with a standard cooking time, not quick-cook rice. Parboiled means the rice has been heat-treated in its husk before husking and polishing; it is not the same as ready-cooked rice that only needs reheating. The process helps the grains hold their shape during cooking.

The liquid in the sauce also counts as cooking liquid. You cannot simply take the usual amount of water for white rice and pour it over a wet tomato base without a second thought. The recipe gives a starting amount and a reserve of hot water. That combination is safer than promising that every rice variety and every hob will behave exactly alike.

Low heat and a tight-fitting lid allow the steam to do the work. Opening the pot repeatedly releases heat and moisture, making it easy to mistake rice that is not yet cooked for rice that needs much more water. Add too much at that point, and the bottom turns mushy while you are still trying to cook the grains on top.

Any adjustment should be small: a few tablespoons of hot water, gently distributed, followed by more time under the lid. Avoid stirring as though making risotto. One gentle turn can help if the pot cooks unevenly, but repeated vigorous stirring breaks the grains and lifts rice stuck to the bottom.

The coveted bottom layer forms when moisture close to the hot pot diminishes and the rice begins to toast. Smoke from a fire and a toasted bottom are two different things, however. At home, you can achieve the latter without the former. Do not try to fill the kitchen with smoke to recreate an outdoor celebration, and do not use a badly burnt layer as a seasoning. Once the rice is cooked, resting it under the lid matters more than a dramatic final blast of heat. Then lift out the fluffy rice and inspect the bottom separately.

Jollof can be served with grilled or fried chicken, meat, fish, beans or vegetables. Cabbage salads and other crisp salads provide a cooling contrast to the hot rice. The arrangement varies between countries, occasions and households; there is no single compulsory set of accompaniments that makes the meal count.

Plantain is nevertheless a particularly lovely companion. In Sweden, it is often sold as matbanan, or cooking banana, but that name does not tell you which stage of ripeness to choose. For sweet fried plantain, you need ripe fruit with yellow skin and plenty of dark spots. Green plantains are firmer and starchier and give a different result. Very dark skin does not necessarily mean the fruit has spoiled, but the flesh should still be sound and firm enough to slice.

In the pan, ripe plantain develops soft centres and browned edges. Its sweetness rounds out the chilli, while a little salt keeps the accompaniment from feeling like dessert. In Nigeria, fried ripe plantain is often called dodo. It is worth frying while the rice rests, so both reach the table at their best: the rice fluffy, the plantain warm and glossy.

Chapman, a drink strongly associated with Nigeria, goes well with the meal. Many versions combine citrus soft drinks, a sweet red ingredient and citrus fruit, often with cucumber. When it is promised as alcohol-free, the important thing is to check the bitters too. Ordinary aromatic cocktail bitters often contain alcohol, even if only a few drops are used. Here, we choose alcohol-free bitters or leave them out entirely. Plenty of ice and squeezed lime make the drink refreshing enough to complement the food without letting sweetness take over.

Bissap, a hibiscus drink enjoyed under various names in several West African countries, offers a different kind of refreshment. Its red colour may suggest sweetness, but the natural tartness of hibiscus is the whole point. Lightly sweetened and well chilled, it cuts beautifully through the oil in the rice and the sweetness of the plantain. For those who prefer beer, a pale lager with moderate bitterness is an easy choice; intense bitterness can make the chilli feel more aggressive.

Start by reading the rice packet and choosing the right type of rice, not just the right colour of packaging. Long-grain parboiled rice is available in ordinary supermarkets. Plantain and Scotch bonnet can often be found in well-stocked African or international food shops; habanero is a useful chilli alternative. If plantain is unavailable, roasted sweet potato makes a tasty accompaniment, though it will not, of course, be dodo. Ordinary dessert bananas soften much faster and are not a direct substitute.

Tinned tomatoes make the recipe less dependent on the Swedish tomato season. The peppers contribute sweetness and body even in the middle of winter. Choose a heavy-based pot of roughly four litres with a genuinely tight-fitting lid. Four portions do not require the enormous pots of a party kitchen, but the same principle applies: enough surface area for the sauce to reduce, followed by gentle cooking with the steam kept inside.

The tomato and pepper base can easily be made ahead. This spreads out the work and lets you concentrate on the rice as your guests’ arrival approaches. Do not, however, double the batch in the same pot without reconsidering the method. A deeper quantity cooks differently, and it is often easier to use two pots than to rescue one that is overfilled.

Look after the leftovers, too. Cooked rice should not sit lukewarm for hours. Cool it quickly in shallow containers, refrigerate, and reheat only the amount you plan to eat until piping hot throughout. Freeze in portions if the rice will not be eaten soon.

Finally: use your nose, your ears and your patience. The sauce should go from raw to rich, the lively boil to a quiet simmer. Serve on a large platter if you like, pass the accompaniments around the table, and save the discussion of which country makes the best jollof until everyone has been fed. The debate tends to be friendlier that way. The bottom layer, however, may need negotiations of its own.