Nigerian Smoky Party Jollof Rice
Smoky Party Jollof Rice is the type served at big parties and is a party favourite. The smokiness comes from using firewood in cooking it and in the absence of firewood, the gentle burning of the bottom of the pot of rice just like the Spanish Paella socarrat.
Equipment
- Large Pot (20 gallons or 75 litres)
- Large Frying pan
- Large Wooden Paddle
- Industrial cooker
- Clean empty rice bag
- Large basins and sieve
- Large slotted spoon
Ingredients
MEAT
- 100 pieces Chicken or 200 beef
- 20 seasoning cubes
- 5 Tablespoons chicken powder
- 3 Tablespoons curry powder
- 3 Tablespoons dry thyme
- 2 large onions sliced
- 5 litres vegetable oil for frying
PEPPER MIX
- 3 kg fresh Tomato
- 600 g shombo 30-40
- 1.2 kg medium Onions 6 medium
- 2-3 cups whole scotch bonnet Ata rodo
- 1 kg Tatashe 20 medium
STEW
- 4 litres vegetable oil Part of the oil used in frying meat
- 200 g margarine
- 15 (1.8kg) medium Onions
- 2200 g Tomato Paste
- 150 g Curry powder
- 60 g dry thyme
- 7 litres Pepper mix
- 15-20 bayleaves
- 150 g Jollof seasoning*
- 50 g white pepper
- 300 g chicken seasoning powder
- 30 cubes seasoning cubes
RICE
- 60-75 cups rice
- 2 litres meat stock
- 8 litres water
- salt
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 50 g margarine
- 4 bulbs of garlic
- 4 ginger root fingers
Instructions
MEAT
- Wash meat, and place it in a large pot.
- Sprinkle seasoning cubes, chicken powder, curry powder, dry thyme and onions. Peel, wash and grind garlic and ginger, pour into the meat, Stir well.
- Cover and place over medium-high heat.
- Cook for 3 minutes to release some of its juices, add some water and continue cooking until softened.
- Using a large slotted spoon, scoop meat into a large sieve. Strain the meat stock and set aside.
- Pour vegetable oil into a large dry frying pan. Place over high heat.
- Add a few chunks of onions to flavour the oil.
- When hot, add meat and fry until golden brown. Do not overcrowd the oil.
- Strain into a large sieve and set aside.
- Leave the oil to cool down, and strain.
PEPPER MIX
- Wash fresh Tomato, shombo, onions and scotch bonnet (Ata rodo).
- Remove seeds from the tatashe and wash.
- Grind all together until well pureed.
- Place in a pot and boil until reduced and thick (Do not burn).
THE STEW
- Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat, pour oil, and when hot add butter.
- Add sliced onions, fry until translucent and softened.
- Sprinkle in curry powder and dry thyme, stir and fry for one minute.
- Add tomato paste, mix well and fry until it loses its rawness, about 5 minutes (taste it).
- Pour in the proper mix and stir very well.
- Fry for 5 minutes, add bay leaves, Jollof seasoning powder* and white pepper. Stir continuously.
- Add chicken seasoning powder and seasoning cubes, keep frying and stirring.
- Fry until the tomato/pepper mix has dried. The oil should be floating on top and the tomato is not tasting tart and raw.
- Take off the heat.
THE RICE
- Pour rice into a large basin, and add enough water to cover it well. Mix and rub between your hands.
- Strain out the cloudy, starchy water.
- Add fresh water and repeat up to 5 or 6 times until the water is almost clear.
- Strain out as much water as possible, set aside.
THE SMOKY PARTY JOLLOF RICE
- Into a large pot, pour in your stew. Be careful not to add the burnt part of the stew.
- Pour in 2 litres of the meat stock and 8 litres of water, stir very well.
- Cover and bring to a boil. Taste, add salt if needed and adjust seasonings.
- Pour in the rice and stir well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- Stir and cover the top with a clean rice bag.
- Reduce the heat to very low and steam the rice.
- Stir at 10-15 minutes intervals. Cover and keep steaming until the rice is soft. (If the rice is burning too much even though it has not softened, sprinkle in some water and stir. Cover and keep steaming.
- Add sliced onions and butter, stir and cover. cook for 5 minutes and take off the heat.
- Transfer into a cooler and leave it slightly open.
Notes
Note (Tips for making a good pot of Nigerian Smoky Party Jollof Rice)
- Goat meat stock is not good for party jollof rice. The goat meat flavour is too gamey.
- Fried meat will brown further as it cools.
- Do not overcook your meat because it will still soften more when fried.
- Do not overcrowd the oil when frying the meat.
- The boiled-down pepper mix should give you approximately 7 litres of pepper mix.
- Jollof seasoning powder can be bought in any Nigerian market or African store.
- If you can not find Jollof seasoning powder, just add a little extra chicken seasoning powder.
- The taste of your stew will be the taste of the jollof rice. If you don't like the taste, adjust your seasonings until you get exactly what you want.
- You can use hot water to give your rice a final rinse before adding it to the stew.