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Oven-Baked Jollof Rice

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5 from 7 reviews

Jollof rice is a West African staple consisting of rice cooked in a delicious, flavour-packed and often spicy tomato sauce. Though it seems simple enough to make, it’s actually pretty difficult to nail. From burning your jollof and making it bitter, to accidentally turning the rice to mush, there are so many things that can go wrong. Oven baking jollof rice isn’t traditional by any means. That said, it’s the most foolproof method I’ve found for nailing jollof rice every single time.

  • Author: zenak
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: 8 with leftovers 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the stew base:

  • 4 medium vine tomatoes, halved and deseeded
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
  • 1 onion, cut into large chunks
  • 1 red scotch bonnet chilli, stem removed (see Notes)
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
  • 15g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 tsp fine sea salt

For the jollof rice: 

  • 600g parboiled long-grain rice (I use Ben’s Original) or high-quality basmati rice (e.g. Golden Sella Basmati Rice)
  • 150ml vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 60g double concentrated tomato purée
  • 1 tbsp curry powder (mild, medium or hot, as preferred)
  • 1 tbsp dried thyme
  • 3 chicken or vegetable stock cubes
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 600ml boiling water

Instructions

  1. Heat your oven to 220℃ / fan 200℃.
  2. Place the tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion and scotch bonnet on a medium roasting tin. Add the vegetable oil, toss to coat. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened and charred at the edges.
  3. Leave to cool for 10 minutes and turn the oven down to 180℃ / fan 160℃.
  4. Transfer the roasted vegetables to a blender. Add the fresh ginger and salt and blitz until smooth. Set aside.
  5. Thoroughly wash the long-grain rice with cold water until the water runs clear, then drain. Please don’t rush this step. The goal is to remove as much of the starch as possible, which is what is going to give you separate, non-sticky cooked grains of rice. Leave to drain in a sieve until ready to use.
  6. Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven set over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 6 to 8 minutes.
  7. Add the double concentrated tomato purée and cook, stirring frequently, until it begins to darken, 3 to 5 minutes.
  8. Add the blended stew, stir to combine, partially cover the pot with the lid and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the oil separates from the stew, around 5 minutes.
  9. Add the curry powder and dried thyme and cook, stirring almost constantly for 1 minute, then add the stock cubes, bay leaves and water. Whisk well to dissolve the stock cubes.
  10. Add the washed and drained rice and stir to combine. Taste and adjust the salt level to your liking – the liquid should be well-seasoned.
  11. Once the rice begins to gurgle, cover with the lid and transfer the Dutch oven to the oven. Bake for 45 minutes.
  12. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, transfer the contents of the pot to a large, deep roasting tin. Add an extra 50ml of boiling water, cover very tightly with 3 layers of foil and bake for 45 minutes.
  13. Remove the pot from the oven and leave it covered for 15 minutes – the steam will finish cooking the rice.
  14. Remove the bay leaves, give the rice a stir and you’re ready to serve, preferably with grilled chicken and fried plantain – enjoy!

Notes

I generally use 2 scotch bonnets, which yields what I would call a spicy jollof rice. For a mild jollof rice, use ½. For a medium jollof rice, use 1. For a blow-your-head-off spicy jollof rice, use 3 or more (at your own risk!)

Find it online: https://zenaskitchen.com/oven-baked-jollof-rice/

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