When it comes to jollof rice, we all know there’s “jollof 🙁 “and there is “JOLLOF!!! 😀 😀 :D” and the highest grade in Jollof rice hierarchy is the Party jollof rice!!! :D. This is because the party jollof rice is actually tastier than the normal jollof rice due to its unique smokey aroma and taste. No festive season is complete without jollof rice. There was a point in my life when i practically crashed parties just because of the jollof rice….LMAO!. I’ve turned a new leaf now though (thank you lord!!!) and that was since i got the perfect recipe.
When it comes to the jollof rice, some people would swear it’s the fire wood smoke that gives the rice that unique flavor while others would swear its the burning of the rice underneath that gives it it’s unique taste. Whichever way, i’m going to show you how to recreate the party jollof rice right in your home without the firewood of course. For jollof rice, you can use the Stock of any meat such as: Beef stock, Chicken Stock, Turkey stock e.t.c. The Original party jollof rice basically doesn’t require vegetables as we use at home so this is optional though when i was done, i added some boiled green peas.
How to cook Jollof rice (Nigerian party style recipe):
•Total time:Over an Hour
•Misc: Serve Hot
•Serves: 12
• 3 Green bell pepper
Preparation of the stock
Step 1: If you are using beef/chicken/turkey,wash and place in a pot. Season with crushed seasoning cubes, salt, curry, thyme and ground/minced ginger,chopped onion and garlic. Boil till tender. Remove the meat from the stock and fry in a seperate pan. View the Original recipes for Turkey stock, Beef Stock or Chicken stock Here . Set the stock aside separately and the oil used in frying separately. You’d need these later.
Preparation of the rice
When it comes to preparing the rice before the real jollof preparation, its either you soak it in hot water for some minutes before washing or you par-boil it before washing. This removes the excess starch and prevents the rice from sticking together while remaining firm. Either way, you’d get the same result
Step 2: Wash the rice thoroughly and place in a pot. Add enough water just enough to cover the rice and par boil for 10 mins. Wash the parboiled rice with cold water, drain and set aside. OR Soak the rice in hot water for some minutes, rinse with clean water, drain and set aside.
Preparation of the tomapep puree
Step 3: Remove the seeds from the tatashey and green bell pepper and wash well. Wash the Tomatoes, Scotch bonnet pepper (ata rodo) and onion well too. Blend everything to a smooth puree. Pour the Blended puree into an empty iron pot and boil till there’s no water left leaving just the concentrated puree in the pot.
Preparation of the Jollof rice
Step 4: Add the tinned tomato paste into the Boiled tomato and pepper puree. Pour the Oil used in frying the meat into the tomapep puree and use it to fry the tomapep puree while stirring constantly so it doesn’t get burnt for about 5 mins.
Step 5: Pour the Beef Stock (meat water) into the fried puree and mix. Add the dry thyme, Curry powder, Seasoning cubes (Crushed), Salt to taste. Gently add the parboiled rice into the puree and stock mixture and make sure the stock covers the rice, if it doesn’t simply add water to ensure it does. Add the Bay leaves to the pot and cover.
Step 6: Leave the jollof to cook and soften and once you notice the liquid in the pot has almost dried up leaving concentrated tomato puree at the top, turn with a wooden spoon or spatula. At this time, Check if the rice is soft enough and also check for salt and if the seasoning from the stock is enough, if not add the necessary ingredients. If its not soft enough, add some more water and leave to dry up once more till its completely soft. Now you can turn with any type of spoon……..Let the Burning Beginnn!!!! P.S: 10-12mins is enough to let the bottom part get charred a bit (please don’t burn the whole pot of rice….lol)
Step 7: Leave the rice to Burn underneath till you begin to smell it :D. Once it completely dries up at the top, turn off the burner and open the pot slightly for the vapor to evaporate.Your rice is ready…Serve!
Kitchen notes:
• Don’t turn with a metal spoon so it doesn’t start burning before its done. Get a wooden spatula ready for this purpose.
• Don’t use your beautiful non stick pot for this purpose else you’d be required to scrub the pot with an iron sponge afterwards thereby damaging the pot :D.
64 comments
Yummy and Educative.
Dobby can i get this for my christmas gift!
well done dobby. attended a wedding reception annd d jollof rice was smthg else… Dey didn't remove d bay leaves and cos i didn't knnw it was bay leaves until recentlyi actually tot d cooking was done under a treeeeee…lolz still waiting 4 d fruit cake recipe. Merry christmas dear. Quin
LOL cooking done under a tree.u got me laughing.nice 1 dobby will sure make dis xmas N merry xmas dobby.Claire
hahahaha!!! i almost fell from the chair i was sitting on when i read the cooking under a tree part also, Cracked me up big time. you are so hilarious quin :). The fruit cake would definitely come up….Just for you ;).Merry Christmas!!!
Do keep me posted claire ;), would love to know how it turned out. Merry Christmas !!!
i'm glad you enjoyed reading Ugo. You sure can and even more 🙂
Like seriously cooking done underneath a tree mega Lolz I have not laughed so hard in a while,lol..
sometimes I forget my Bay leaves too cos I kno I could remove it while eating or while I serve maybe it was an oversight forgive them lol..
@Dobby as usual that is a lovely sight! looks soooo good! yum yum.
Good job. keep it up.
but aunty dobby is it a must that i parboil the rice? Afterall those caterers don't do that. Also thanks for your good work, God bless you and merry xmas to you and your family
Same here, i practically don't remove the leaves till i'm about to eat or serve…lol!. Thank you shallie :D. Merry Christmas!
Hello wunmi, parboiling rice depends mostly on the type of rice you are using. Some contain lots of starch which makes it stick together when cooked thereby making it soggy. Instead of parboiling, you could also soak it in hot water as this also removes some starch in it. you are welcome dear :)…merry Christmas to you too.
Thank you anon 🙂
Parboiling is essential,for "old" rice ie rice that's really strong while u can soak in water for "new" rice that doesn't require cooking for too long. I remember when I cooked for a friend and we decided to soak without checking if it was new or old rice,let's just say I ended up with rice that took way longer to get done and was really burnt. Luckily we where cooking a large quantity
I planned not to cook jack on new yrs day cuz guest who came to my house on xmas refused to eat cuz they had stuffed their stomachs in other places before coming to visit. I ended up wasting food. But I may give dis a shot!
Tokoni
Happy nu year in adv dobby
Thanks for the contribution Anon 05:49.
waste is definitely inevitable during festive periods like Christmas. Seasons greetings Tokoni 🙂
I've got to try this tomorrow. But I wud have to sneak in the thyme cos my mum hates it. That food looks tasty!!
Thanks chetachukwu, do keep me posted :).
I keeping you posted as you said…so I showed my brother this recipe and were both eager to try it, my brother has always loved the phrase 'party rice'. The rice turned out sticky,I don't know if it was because of the many tomato paste we jampacked into it or because I used basmati rice.though we couldn't find the bay leaves in the market today but it turned out to be a delicious new year meal,I spiced it up with peas,corns,backed beans, cabbage and carrots. Please can you elaborate more on the burning stuff…it almost got me into trouble
Hi Chetachukwu,
Thanks for keeping me posted :). Concerning the sticky rice, two things might have been the cause ; (1) The Quality of basmati rice used and (2) the amount of tinned tomatoes used. The major culprit could have been the basmati rice because most of the types we have around are of low quality and they tend to stick together when cooked. The amount of tinned tomatoes used also has the tendency of making jollof not just sticky but also soggy so i'd always advice to use it in moderation. For the burning of the rice, i'd advice you don't leave the rice for too long. 10-12 mins after it's cooked completely would do just fine. This is just to ensure the bottom part is charred a little so the rice in the pot would simmer in the smoky flavor aroma thereby giving it that "party rice flavor". Hope this helps :).
Thanks dobby followed ur reciepe esp d burning tip nd it was sooo yummy…plenty hugs#
Yayyyy!!! Thanks for the feedback Ij ….. *Hugs* 🙂
Anywhere I go I tell them 'I want to cook jollof rice'. Seriously, this is good
it sure is :), thanks ME
Very nice learned something new, you didn't use crayfish in your recipe does it mean its not good cos I know people use it while cooking jollof rice and I do that too . Is it a bad combination? Just curious
Hi Anon,
The Original jollof rice recipe requires No crayfish at all as that would give it the local rice taste. Using Crayfish is not a bad combination at all but, that is done when cooking the local version of jollof rice.
Hi dobby, pls wot's atarodo? Is it pepper n wot kind of pepper is it? Tnx
Atarodo is the small red pepper found in the Nigerian market. i've put the link above.
This looks so tasty. Do you think it would work well and have enough flavour using a vegetable stock too, for a vegetarian version?
Hi natalie, yes it'd work perfectly well with vegetable stock. The Intensity of the flavor would also depend on the type of veggies used.
Thank you! Had an emergency: Lead chef on leave; assistant chef off sick…and my husband hosting 20 of his people at their monthly meeting. I tried to get him to postpone it. He wouldn't think of it…. "It won't be a problem my dear, just make jollof for them instead of the usual pounded yam, etc." "Okay babe…" Hmmm…,me??? When last had I made jollof? And even then, the finished product was usually unpredictable…sometimes, really nice and other times just red gooey rice…… And then I had the bright idea…go online…and Dobbysignature.com came to the rescue after I punched in 'Party Jollof". Wonderfully easy-to-follow recipe…I followed through and, for first time ever – no stickiness… and the right flavor. Afterwards, my husband said, "I knew it would be no big deal for you my dear…" I smiled. Thank God and thank YOU Dobby!
Awww!!! I'm so touched :). Thanks for the feedback Anon. I really do appreciate *Hugs*
Hi Dobby, I love your site! I have a problem, my jollof rice always tastes nice but its never "one-one" *sob*
The reason is one of these: (1) too much tomato paste (2) too much water which tends to make the rice soggy (3) The brand of rice used.
Aha! Thank you! I always used the right rice and added water slowly but never knew too much tomato paste could do that (I love my rice really red!). Thank you Dobby, you are the best *big hug*
you are welcome coc 🙂
Weldone Dobby. my opinion- when u are adding water to your jollof rice in bits,especially when its almost fully cooked. the water doesnt get to dry up well again and the rice becomes soggy. the water is best added earlier in the cooking.
Thanks for the contribution Anon 6:24 pm 🙂
Sweet Dobby…I don't understand the step where I get to pour d oil used in frying meat into d pot containing d puree,how about the othordox method of pouring the oil into an empty pot b4 d puree
You can also pour the oil into an empty pot before the puree, it really doesn't matter which comes first. What matters is the frying part.
I have a special pot for my special jollof rice. Slightly burnt loveeeee
That's great niffyt. It'd definitely come in handy for tasty jollof rice 🙂
I cooked jollof rice for the very first time today using this recipe and it went down well!!!! THANK YOU
Thanks for the feedback MissJ. Glad it turned out fine.
Thanks dobby. I tried this recipe yesterday for the sallah celebrations. It was awesome, everyone really loved it. Also tried your ginger bread and chin chin recipe. Thank youuuuuuuuuu.
You're welcome Anon :), glad it turned out fine. Thanks for the feedback.
Tried the recipe Christmas morning after my chef didn't show up to work. It was super soggy. 🙁 Also, it takes a lot of stock to get 1 liter . I used perfume jasmine rice. Very disappointed. I followed the recipe to a T. There was a lot of tomato sauce left on it after the rice was cooked.
Hi Anon, you probably added too much water. Also, i've noticed that perfumed rice such as basmati and jasmine rice tend to stick together which means they contain more starch than the normal rice. When using perfumed rice, it's best to add the stock gradually till you get the right amount of softness you need. Also, i'd advised you skip par-boiling the rice and soak it in hot water first before cooking it. That way, the rice would still remain firm and not too soft once cooked.
Tried this recipe and it turnned out awesome. This s d 1st tym I wuld b comment but nt d 1st I wuldd b stealing ur recipe*winks*…..1 of dose dat comes aroud spy,admire buh dnt comment. u'v bin doin a grt job dobby,I LOVE THIS BLOG!!!!….so addicted to it
And 1 more fin ma hubby luvd t…fnks tu u*hugs*
Thanks alot for the honest feedback kikelola, it'd be nice to hear from you more often 🙂
Awww!! Glad it turned out great…thank you too 🙂
Will try this steps tomorrow.
Do keep us posted Tochi.
hey Dobby good info and thanks for sharing your cooking skills, however ive never used green bell pepper only the red one for my jelloffe, i cook local way by adding small crayfish, however Does the green bell peppers give it a completely diff taste?
Hi Anon, Yes it does. For Normal jollof rice please skip the crayfish. I enjoy rice with crayfish too but if you want to cook authentic party rice the crayfish should be skipped. The green pepper gives it the party rice flavour. You just have to blend it along with the red pepper and tomatoes
I don't like jellof rice at home cos it never comes out nice. Wen I use ur recipe it works! Am scared of trying this cos am not seeing plenty spices. I need help! How do I make stew too.
lol! You don't Need lots of Spices to get the perfect jollof rice. Infact, an easy way to know a not too good cook is the amount of spices the person uses while cooking. Just try out this recipe, i'm sure you'd testify *Wink*.
Will try this today
Dobby dobby! Absolutely love your blog…you inspire me to cook more and more. More Palm oil and olive oil to your elbows! God bless
Do keep us posted k.
haha!!! thanks alot Anon 🙂
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