The ubiquitous Jollof rice might safely be called the National dish of Nigeria. It is eaten in every nook and cranny of the country by practically everyone. In fact, if you are looking for a conversation starter with a Nigerian ask them about Jollof rice.

There are variations of it, the most popular being the regular Nigerian Jollof rice, then there is Nigerian native Jollof (Palmoil Jollof), Nigerian Egusi Jollof rice etc. The Nigerian coconut jollof rice is different from Nigerian coconut rice. This coconut Jollof rice is jollof rice with coconut milk added to it. The rich flavour of coconut and comforting taste of jollof rice combine to make this dish special and kids love it.

I love coconut and while growing up, a day became special for me once Coconut jollof rice was on the menu. Of course, I won’t be found anywhere near the kitchen to avoid being asked to join those grating the coconut with the large graters used back then.

If you can cook jollof rice then you can definitely cook coconut jollof rice. Coconut rice has the tendency to become soggy and burn, so you will need to adjust the cooking temperature at different times. You can use fresh whole coconut, canned coconut milk or coconut powder. If extracting milk from fresh coconut, use a mature coconut for best flavour. If using coconut powder, then make coconut milk from the powdered coconut.

How to prepare Nigerian Coconut Jollof rice

3 cups rice
250g whole tomato (5 medium)* 
60g tatashe (2 pieces, fresh paprika pepper)* 
20g shombo (6 pieces, fresh cayenne pepper)* 
150g onions (1 medium)* 
5 scotch bonnet (fresh pepper)*
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sliced onion (1 large)
1/2 tablespoon crushed garlic (3 cloves) 
1/2 tablespoon crushed ginger (1-inch) 2
1/4 cup tomato paste (tinned tomato)
1/2 tablespoon dry thyme
1/2 tablespoon curry powder 
2 dry bay leaf 
4 seasoning cubes
salt
1 cup coconut milk
2 cups meat stock

*If you have your Tomato stew base available then skip these ingredients and just use 1 cup of the stew base.

Wash rice, place in a pot, add enough water to cover the rice by about 1 inch.

Boil rice until halfway done, drain in a sieve, run cold water on the rice to cool it down and stop further cooking. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, wash the tomatoes, peppers and onions, deseed the tatashe and put all in a blender.

Blend into a very smooth puree.

Pour into a medium-sized pot and place over medium-high heat, do not cover the pot.

Boil until the liquid has evaporated.

ingredients for Nigerian coconut jollof rice

Place a clean dry pot over medium heat, add vegetable oil.

When it is hot, add chopped onions and fry until it softens and becomes translucent.

Add garlic and ginger, stir until you smell them.

Add tomato paste, thyme, curry and bay leaves, stir for 1 minute.

Pour in the boiled tomato puree and seasoning cubes, stir well and fry.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue frying, stirring often. The oil will separate from the tomato puree and have no raw tomato taste.

Add coconut milk, stock and some water, enough to cover the rice. Stir and bring to a boil.

Add the parboiled rice. Stir and taste for salt and other seasonings. Add salt, correct seasoning.

Cover tightly and cook until little water is remaining, reduce heat to low and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed. If the rice is not soft enough add a little water and continue steaming until it is done.

Take off the heat.

Stir and cover to dry out, about 5 minutes.

Serve with a protein of choice.

Note

The amount of liquid added to the coconut milk actually depends on how far or how well done you parboiled your rice. If the parboiled rice is almost soft, you will need to add less water but if it is still hard, you will need more water. It is better to use less and add more liquid later.
Resting helps absorb the last vestiges of liquid on the body of the rice, that way it won’t have a wet feeling in the mouth or go soggy.
The resulting chaff from the fresh whole coconut can be used for coconut candy or Indian coconut ladoo.