The Wide World of Jollof Rice

Across French-speaking countries from Guinea Bissau to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, and Niger, Jollof rice is called Riz au Gras, or Riz Gras for short. In Mali the dish goes by Nsamé or Zaame. Several recipes in these countries are similar to Thiéboudienne and attribute whole vegetables including okra, cabbage, and (sweet) potatoes. In Guinea, my friend, Memunat makes a beautiful version cooked in a tamarind-laced stew with beef and potatoes.

The wording translates as “fat rice” and is a reference to the concise-grain selection widely used in these parts.

The goal is for the rice grains to stay separate, like pilau, each grain beautifully coated in the bright orange-red sauce. Like converted rice, the grains stay whole in the course of cooking.

In English-speaking Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria, the dish goes by Jollof. Golden sella basmati is my favorite kind of rice to use. Additional of late, the use of basmati rice is growing. As a Nigerian, I think of Jollof both as the rice dish and as a noun used to describe enjoyment. “See Jollof” means “see how much fun is being had.” Nigerians additionally favor parboiled, converted rice for its ability to stand up to slow-cooking free from turning the rice to mush.

Native rice features vegetal, fermented flavors from a combination of unrefined red palm oil and smoked, dried fish, finished with fragrant herbs like uziza (leaves of piper Guineense) and/or scent leaf, cousin to Thai basil and Vietnamese perilla.

Party Jollof, also called Party rice, is imbued alongside smoky flavors and widely cooked outdoors, over firewood. There is additionally the smoky, toasty crusty rice at the bottom of the pot, affiliated alongside it, a red spiced equivalent of Persian.

Two other kinds of Jollof are widely used, Party and Native Jollof. Some people on the flavors on the stovetop by turning the heat up once the rice is cooked, then letting it burn, others employ liquid smoke.

Other similar red rice dishes are the Portuguese Arroz de Tomate and Mexican Arroz Rojo.

Across the Atlantic, there are traces of Jollof in red rice, as well as in Jambalaya.

The vegetables are cooked through till they are soft, tender and still maintain their structure, then removed, and at last, it’s time for the stew. To serve, the rice is ladled into a large dish, and the vegetables and fish are piled on top. The tomato blend goes in, then seasoning, and then you add rice, stirred gently but thoroughly as it cooks. As the rice nears doneness, the vegetables and fish are reintroduced and to marry the flavors together for the final stretch of cooking. Typically, firm-fleshed white fish is seasoned with the rof, fried and then removed from the pot, collection aside for incorporation at the end. Next door, the Gambians name it Benachin and it has countless similarities with the Senegalese variant, with cabbage being a widespread addition.

In Senegal, Thiéboudienne or Ceebu Jen, as Jollof is familiar there, is made with broken jasmine rice, (imported from Vietnam through means of France during colonial times), cooked in a seasoned stew of fresh tomatoes or tomato paste, fresh and fermented seafood, delightful parsley paste called rof, and vegetables—carrots, aubergines, cassava are common.

Popular as it is, it’s no surprise that this dish is treated like a family heirloom. The exact recipe differs from kitchen to kitchen, and is passed along and treasured.

Jollof rice is named once the kingdom of Jolof, a historic 15th- to 18th-century state in the Senegambian region. Ancient Dyula travelling salesmen are credited with spreading the joy of Jollof south and all the way to Niger and Nigeria east. Now, Jollof exists in every country across the subcontinent, each with its own unique take.

Ghanaians, who favor scented Thai Jasmine rice, and are the other half of the Jollof Wars, a playful rivalry with Nigeria, are partial to ginger, kpakpo shito (a variety of green scotch bonnets) and aromatic spices like fennel and aniseed. The Jollof Wars are all about who makes the best pot and on World Jollof Rice Day, celebrated on August 22 across West Africa and the diaspora, one might see contests and competitions featuring both countries.

This is “consistent” Nigerian Jollof often accompanied by beef or chicken, fried or grilled; a coleslaw-style salad served using salad cream; dodo (sweet ripe plantains, often diced); and/or moinmoin (similar to tamales, wrapped in leaves or made in ramekins from raw, pureed black-eyed beans)—a feast!

The primary seasoning for Nigerian Jollof includes some or all of the following: curry powder, dried thyme, bay leaf, recent ginger and garlic and pepper, white or black.

The essentials for Jollof rice are tomatoes, sweet red peppers, chilies of multiple colors and heat levels, spices, blends and aromatics, vegetables, and the most key of them all: rice. It is changes these which both unite and differentiate it. The gentle varies from extended to compact grain, whole to broken, depending on where you are and what you like. Beef or chicken stock or both are widespread additions, and in many cases, people use bouillon or seasoning cubes.

The ratio of those ingredients differs from recipe to recipe, but in every case, these ingredients gets cooked down and reduced largely to round off the raw, tart flavors. Some people like to roast the vegetables whole or in large chunks before blending.

One key module of the dish is the stew base, made by blending fresh tomatoes, onions, a selection of sweet, long, hot, and bell peppers with a touch of water or stock. Though stove top cooking is the most usual, some people use an oven, or even a rice cooker.

Whatever track you choose, the second measure involves frying this reduced tomato and pepper mix in some oil, including or without tomato paste, and seasoning to taste. This is the stew that gives the rice its flavor.

It is street food, everyday rice and Party Rice—eaten at birthdays, funerals, and celebrations of any sort.

Jollof rice is the most widely used rice dish south of the Sahara, from its birthplace in Senegal across the coast to Nigeria. It’s an often quoted saying that “A party without Jollof is just a meeting,” and frankly, I can’t remember a lone Nigerian party I’ve been to where Jollof, in one shape or the other, wasn’t present.

This spiced red rice dish is loved across the coast of West Africa, alongside diasporic expressions across the Atlantic.

Whatever country exploration you decide to embark on now you have knowledge, enjoy it. Investigate the common accompaniments and cook yourself a feast—see Jollof for yourself.

Source: The Wide World of Jollof Rice