Smokey Jollof Rice(Lazy Chef Christmas)

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What is Christmas without Jollof rice? Zero! Every Christmas season, my mother made fried rice and Jollof rice. Although my father was not a fan of jollof rice, he would still eat it with us and also have his stew and rice later. The man was picky and I honestly have no idea how my mother managed 🙂

Anyway, I have gone this whole year perfecting my recipe for jollof rice and I have to say my recipe is bae (not to brag or anything 🙂 )

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Anyway, I was on Youtube with my ajebutter watching videos on how to make slime(don’t ask why we were making slime, but it is one of our favorite things to do 🙂 ) I bumped into Ndudu by fafa’s video on how to make smoked jollof rice  and I was so mesmerized and I decided to make some, but with my own technics.

Of all the Nigerian foods that are bae, Jollof is “baest” And making perfectly it is all in the technic and ingredients. One thing that makes this recipe uber smoked for me is the roasting of the peppers, onion, garlic and tomatoes. Kaii! It added that smokey flavor and you can tell the slight difference between this and the regular jollof rice. As in I now roast, blend and save my tomatoes, pepper and onions for my Nigerian stew and sauce recipes.

Jollof rice is part of the joy of Christmas. When I was little, after eating and drinking our “mineral” (Nigerian slang for soft drink), we would dress up in our Christmas brocades and go to our family friend’s houses and eat more jollof and fried rice. There was no shame as we were kids 🙂 We used to  eat until our little bellies were full of food and we could barely move. And now in the future after watching Ndudu’s video and seeing that Jollof rice can be more, I went all in and made some and before evening the whole pot was gone 🙂 Even the burnt bit at the bottom of the pot was gone 🙂

This rice not only reminded me of Christmas, but it brought back fond memories of all the Nigerian parties I attended as a child. One thing I love to create is sweet kitchen nostalgia, I love to remind my people of fond food memories and this recipe does just that. Are you ready for this? Thank me later 🙂

Smoked Jollof Rice(Lazy Chef Christmas)
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 9
Ingredients
  • 31/2 cups of long grain rice(washed and drained)
  • 3-4 very red bell peppers(tatase)
  • 4 habanero peppers or small jalapenos
  • 2 medium sized plum tomatoes
  • 3tbsps tomato paste
  • ½ cup coconut oil(any cooking oil works)
  • 1 tbsp. butter
  • 1½ medium onions
  • 4 small garlic cloves
  • meat stock or water
  • Bouillon
  • 1-2 bay leaf
  • 1tsp thyme
  • 1tsp curry
  • 1tsp black pepper(optional)
  • 1tsp white pepper(optional)
  • 4 sprigs of uda
  • salt to taste
for garnishing
  • ¼ tsp nut meg(grated)
  • half of a small onion(sliced)
  • 2 small plum tomatoes(sliced)
  • I inch ginger(grated)
  • ½ tbsp. butter
Instructions
  1. Using a knife, cut the whole onion(reserving the half sized one), the bell peppers, habanero peppers, garlic and tomatoes. Roast in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes
  2. After roasting, blend the mix and set aside
  3. Heat up one tbsp. of butter along with the oil and slice in the remaining half of the onion. Sauté until almost translucent; then add the thyme, bay leaf, curry, white pepper, uda sprigs and black pepper. Stir for a few minutes to release the flavors in the herbs; then pour in the tomato mix along with the tomato paste. Stir fry until the oil has floated to the top and the mix has darkened(but not burnt). At this point the oil content may seem too much, so you will have to decant some which you can use to make some Nigerian stew later. Pour in the rice and stir it into the sauce making sure to coat each grain with the sauce. Pour in the meat stock to a little above the rice and check for seasonings. Add the bouillon and salt if needed and as needed; do not stir. Bring to a slight boil; then cover with a steam bag or foil sheet; then tightly place the lid of the pot over it and let it cook on medium heat. Once the liquid has dried out, check the rice for doneness. Stir in the nut meg, the half tbsp.of butter,onion, tomato and ginger.
  4. You may add more water or stock if you want it softer, or simply turn off the heat and leave the bag or foil over it with the lid tightly on to steam cook and soften

 

13 comments

  1. ijeoma says:

    I certainly will try this today, then cook it again on christmas day. pls nma what is uda sprigs? do u know if one can get it abroad?

    • Nma Okpara says:

      Hi Ijeoma. Uda is part of peppersoup spices. Any African shop will have it abroad. You could use 12 little cloves if you cannot find any. I hope you enjoy it. please leave us a feed back. Thank you

  2. chioma says:

    Hey dear
    Thx for this. Pls how many uda springs should be used also is it possible to attach a link of the uda picture so I don’t use the wrong thing.
    Thk you soooooo much

  3. Lizzy says:

    I am a great jollof freak! I will definitely try ur recipe, have a feeling it will be great. Never heard or imagined Uda in jollof. I follow ur IG page and I must say, u are awesome! I only pray to be able to do wat u do or meet u some day ?? cheers

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