Wednesday was the 4th annual World Jollof Rice Day so this weekend, I'm actually making food from two countries. Ghana and Nigeria have a fierce rivalry over who makes the best jollof rice, and there's an even bigger debate among West African countries over where it was invented.
Jollof rice is basically what's known as "red rice" in the American south--long grain rice cooked with tomato, onion, and spices. The Ghanaian recipe that I found used bell peppers, so that's what I used. Some versions use lots of vegetables, some versions use none. It seems like this is just a matter of taste.
One difference between the two is that the Ghanaian version is a little spicier--they use a tomato stew with ginger, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. I left out the pepper because I didn't want it to be too spicy. I had some habaneros left over from Peru still, so I let a whole one steam with the rice which made it plenty spicy.
Onions are sauteed with tomato paste to create the base, then the tomato stew is added in.
Water is added and brought to a boil. Then, the rice is added. Ghanaian jollof rice uses basmati rice, which isn't parboiled because it becomes too soggy. So the rice has to cook in the tomato stew the entire time.
This is where it becomes "red rice." After the rice has mostly cooked, the bell peppers are added and allowed to steam and soften while the rice finishes cooking.
Once everything is cooked through, it's all mixed and topped with herbs (the recipe I used called for coriander, aka cilantro).
Side note: This article from The Guardian Nigeria has some good information and graphics about the history of this dish.
Look for Nigeria's version tomorrow!
Recipes Used: Ghanaian Jollof Rice
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