Smoky Jollof Rice
Updated Aug. 8, 2024
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2ripe Roma tomatoes, cored and quartered
- 1large red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1whole habanero chile, destemmed
- 2serrano chiles, destemmed
- 4garlic cloves, peeled
- 1tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- ⅓cup olive oil
- 1medium red onion, diced
- 1teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼cup tomato paste
- 2tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1teaspoon curry powder
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon dried thyme
- 1teaspoon ground cayenne
- ½teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2¼cups basmati rice
- 2dried bay leaves
- 1tablespoon granulated chicken bouillon (preferably Knorr)
- ¼cup chopped scallions (optional), for garnishing
- ¼cup chopped cilantro (optional), for garnishing
For the Tomato Mixture
For the Rice
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
307 calories; 10 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 50 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 316 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the tomato mixture: In a blender, combine tomatoes, bell pepper, habanero, serranos, garlic, ginger and 2 cups water. Blend on high until smooth; set aside.
- Step 2
Prepare the rice: Heat olive oil in a large, lidded pot over medium. Add onion and salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and sauté, stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes until the oil turns orange and the tomato paste darkens. Add paprika, curry powder, cumin, thyme, cayenne, black pepper and turmeric; stir and continue cooking until everything is well combined, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 3
Turn off the heat and stir in the rice, making sure every grain of rice is coated. Add bay leaves and chicken bouillon.
- Step 4
Turn heat to high, stir in tomato mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, adjust heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Do not remove the lid or stir rice.
- Step 5
Turn off heat after 20 minutes and set a timer for 15 minutes. Allow rice to sit and do not remove the lid.
- Step 6
After the 15 minutes are up, remove lid, and fluff rice with a fork, separating all the grains. If rice seems to be a little undercooked, stop fluffing, steam for another 5 minutes and check again.
- Step 7
Serve garnished with scallions and cilantro.
Private Notes
Comments
The tomato mixture prepped in Step 1, then added to the rice in step 4, includes 2 cups of water (in addition to pureed tomatoes etc.)
So great flavor, and I followed recipe closely, but whoa, amount of liquid and cook time for the rice way off. Did the 20 min heat + 15 off heat (undisturbed) and rice was crunchy. Another 0.5 cup water, 5 min, twice, then getting frustrated so put 1 cup water for 5 more minutes. Then ANOTHER cup and another 5 minutes and turned up the heat. Disappointing results—no fluffy, all mushy 😑.
I think recipe should specify the amount of water to add to chicken bouillon and boil, prior to step 3. Sounds good and very simple. Nice.
Even after reading the comments and adjusting my prep, this rice took several rounds of adding water and more cook time . The flavor was good though I seeded all my peppers to reduce the heat. I used brown rice , pre soaked it for 30 minutes and started with 1:1.75 rice to water ratio. Ultimately it needed at least 45 minutes and at least 1:2 cups of water per cup of rice.
This is.... ok. I went with a 14oz can of whole tomatoes because off-season tomatoes have no flavor, and I figured it could use the extra liquid anyway. Then I filled the can and added that amount of water to the blender. It's strange because the dish is still moist, the rice didn't burn, but it also didn't really cook? I soaked the rice for about 20 minutes but maybe I should have soaked it longer. Don't usually have this issue with basmati rice. The rice should be parboiled, honestly.
I followed the recipe amounts exactly, and used one of my wide le creuset pots with a lid and I also had crunchy rice after 35 minutes. I added more water and gave another 5 minutes twice, still crunchy. Then did more water and about 6 more minutes. It still probably could have used a little more time but we were hungry.