Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent chunk on a spoon. You need slightly little bit of all the things: the small cuts of cow pores and skin meat (Ponmo), dry fish, Ugu, and so forth.
A Mom Dish in Its Personal Proper
Over the centuries, Jollof rice has been the idea for a variety of derivatives, and those that prefer to get artistic within the kitchen have used it as a flavorful basis for brand new concepts.
How Jollof Rice Got here to the States: Southern, Lowcountry Purple Rice
Amethyst Ganaway, a chef and meals author, is not going to quit her household pink rice recipe. She has perfected it, and she’s going to shield it. And rightfully so!
To her, Purple rice is greater than only a by-product of Jollof rice. “[Red rice] is a particular dish that we get to have as a result of it solidifies the connections between our cultures and our ancestors,” says Ganaway. She compares her Purple rice intently to tomato perloo, pilau, or pilaf.
Purple rice is instantly associated to Jollof rice, however it’s change into a dish in its personal proper because it got here to america, carried by the Trans-Atlantic Slave Commerce. The Gullah Geechee individuals within the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia could be credited with creating Purple rice, which in so some ways nonetheless carries these unique flavors of Jollof. However simply as there are lots of kinds of Jollof, there are some variations of Purple rice as effectively alongside the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Hall. For instance, Savannah Purple rice is completely different from Charleston pink rice.
Rising up, Ganaway didn’t notice how wealthy the historical past of Purple rice was. “It wasn’t till I turned a chef that I actually began doing analysis and realized that, oh wow, [Red rice] truly comes from Jollof or Thiéboudienne, however it made sense,” she says. “Rising up in Charleston, South Carolina in regards to the connections to slavery and that it was instantly tied to rice so there was that last piece of the puzzle that introduced all the things collectively.”
Much like the unique Jollof, Ganaway’s pink rice is a meal to be shared, and there are many methods to make it. It may be vegetarian or full of meat and seafood. Canned tomatoes, recent tomatoes, tomato paste or sauce – they’re all truthful sport. The objective is to create a last dish with a texture that’s barely dry, with fluffy rice and a touch of smoke, spice, and sweetness.
Past a Rice Dish: Egunsifoods’ Jollof Orzo Soup
Once I created my Jollof Orzo Soup recipe, my fundamental objective was to seize the signature issues that, for my part, make Jollof, Jollof. I went backwards and forwards for some time – is the foundational facet of Jollof the rice, or the inventory? Rice is used universally throughout kinds of Jollof, however I felt like that wasn’t all of the dish got here all the way down to. It was extra in regards to the taste.
Lastly, I made a decision it was the inventory. It’s the inventory and the greens that give Jollof that distinct, seasoned taste, and I needed to see if I might carry this taste profile to a different dish as effectively. I got down to make this soupy model of Jollof and swapped out the rice for orzo for an optimum texture.
Orzo retains its form higher than rice does in soup with out getting mushy, plus it releases starch sooner, which supplies the soup as an entire a creamier feeling. However nonetheless, all of it got here all the way down to getting the flavour proper, so I introduced in a very powerful spices: the Jamaican curry powder and the dried thyme.
This soup is a good way to expertise the quintessential Jollof flavors whereas making a comforting, warming soup excellent for the winter months!
Coconut Jollof Rice: A Mixture of Flavors
Coconut milk is an ingredient usually utilized in Thai cooking and another Asian cuisines, however it may put a very scrumptious twist on Jollof rice. By including coconut milk to the simmering base of tomatoes, peppers, spices, and inventory, you introduce a richness and a creaminess to the ultimate dish.
Affiong Osuchukwu, the founding father of Ekaterra, an genuine West African spice firm, has championed this recipe for us. Along with the coconut milk, she’s utilizing our personal Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce and her Jollof spice combine to drive residence the flavour.
Rising up, Osuchukwu had two favourite dishes: coconut rice and Jollof rice. When she returned to Nigeria as an grownup, she found coconut Jollof rice, a scrumptious, two-for-one mixture of her favourite flavors. It was one thing she couldn’t wait to make for herself.
Osuchukwu based Ekaterra in an effort to rediscover indigenous West African components, increase consciousness of West African meals tradition globally, and convey these flavors from Africa to the remainder of the world.
To Burn or To not Burn: Kanzo, or Scorched Rice
If you make rice, do you want when a number of the grains get caught to the underside of the pot, after they get crunchy and generally slightly bit burnt? In terms of Jollof, opinions can differ drastically.
Scorched rice pops up in cultures everywhere in the world. There’s Persian tahdig and Spanish socarrat, simply two of many dishes the place the cooked, crunchy rice on the backside of the pot is seen as a vital a part of the dish. However not everyone feels the identical manner about scorched rice.
Within the Twi language, the scorched rice on the backside of the pot is usually known as “Kanzo.” Twi is a dialect of the Akan language, which is spoken in Southern and Central Ghana by a number of million individuals. The Hausa individuals, spanning from Nigeria to Ghana, additionally use the time period “Kanzo.” Typically it’s merely known as “backside pot.”
Ozoz Sokoh from Kitchen Butterfly generally calls Kanzo the “chef’s reward” – the flavorful, crispy bits that you could scrape off and luxuriate in once you’re cleansing out the pot. When the Jollof is cooked over the standard wooden hearth, the scorched rice picks up that delectable smoky taste. For a lot of, it may be an actual deal with. To strive it for your self, try Sokoh’s recipe on Food52 (our beautiful Kanzo photographs are from Sokoh as effectively!).
You would possibly discover these scorched, crispy grains of rice in any iteration of Jollof. Whereas it could generally occur by chance, some individuals select to discard it, whereas others hold it so as to add a crunch to the dish.
Jollof rice, in most of its iterations, is normally thought of to have a fluffy texture, with every of the grains of rice separate from the others. Kanzo, or the burned rice on the backside of the pan, modifications that texture, and creates a brand new tackle Jollof.
Carry a Little Style of West Africa to Your Vacation Celebrations
Individuals from throughout West Africa prefer to say that their Jollof recipe is the most effective (hem hem, Nigerian and Ghanaian…), however we’re not right here to inform you which model of Jollof comes out on high. Jollof is usually eaten for celebrations, however it’s additionally a celebration of our historical past, tradition, and values, each on the continent and within the diaspora.
It exhibits up in so many alternative methods, ways in which specific every of our private connections to the dish, regional influences, and historical past. However these variations all share a typical thread – the bottom for the dish – so it doesn’t imply that one is true and one is unsuitable. Jollof, irrespective of how precisely it is made, brings individuals collectively to have fun and spend time collectively.
All of us have our traditions, the meals or the actions that inform us it’s actually time to get into the vacation spirit. However generally it’s thrilling to strive one thing new. If you happen to’re on the lookout for a manner so as to add a little bit of spice to your holidays, contemplate bringing a celebratory platter of Jollof rice to the desk to collect your family and friends.
In my recipe, I take advantage of a jar of Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din Sauce to pack a flavorful punch and get my Jollof on the desk even sooner. Attempt it out for your self this vacation season!
Jollof rice is a type of dishes that’s widespread throughout all of West Africa. Everybody makes it just a bit bit otherwise, and over the centuries, it has been the bottom for a variety of different comparable and by-product dishes. However irrespective of the way you select to make it, it’s a giant a part of our tradition, our delicacies, and particularly our celebrations.
What’s Jollof Rice?
Since I’m from Nigeria, I’m most accustomed to the Nigerian model of Jollof rice. For me, there are core parts, or constructing blocks that make up a real Jollof rice and provides it its taste profile: a flavorful Omi Eran (meat inventory, particularly hen), the Elo Obe (the ingredient base – tomato, pink pepper and/or tatashe pepper, onion, and habanero pepper), curry powder (particularly Jamaican curry), dried thyme, oil, and the smokiness that comes from cooking the Jollof over an open wooden flame.
The Elo Obe – the ingredient base – is common within the majority of sorts of Jollof rice discovered throughout West Africa, and its derivatives (just like the pink rice native to the Lowcountry of the Carolinas and Georgia – hold studying to study extra!). In terms of the inventory, it’s frequent as of late to make use of bouillon cubes, comparable to Maggi or Knorr. With a great flavorful do-it-yourself inventory, nonetheless, it could be simpler to manage the extent of salt or different spices.
By way of the oil used, vegetable oil is the commonest sort. In native Nigerian Jollof rice, we use palm oil, and again within the day, individuals usually used a mixture of margarine and vegetable oil.
Mastering these completely different parts is what makes Jollof a definite and scrumptious West African dish. These flavors – from the Elo Obe, the spices, the inventory, and the oil – are the primary basis of Jollof. (Maintain studying to see how I’ve creatively used these parts in my Jollof Orzo Soup!)
In terms of my Jollof rice recipe, a very powerful spices are curry powder (a Jamaican curry powder combine to be particular) and dried thyme. Relying on the recipe, different spices and aromatics is perhaps added, however these – paired with the stewed tomato or the blended Elo Obe and inventory base – give Jollof its acquainted taste.
Nigerian Jollof rice is normally cooked with long-grain parboiled rice. The rice is cooked within the Elo Obe mix, your oil of selection relying on which Nigerian Jollof rice you make (vegetable oil, palm oil, or a mixture of vegetable oil and margarine), and deeply flavored meat inventory, and turns into a medium to hold all of those flavors. Many of the components are cooked in a single pot, and the completed dish is served with a protein of selection and different accompaniments that will embody fried plantains, moimoi, or steamed greens.
This month, we even have Chef Wande from Wanakin’s Kitchen sharing her recipe for Nigerian Jollof rice handed down from her mom!
The Dish of Celebration
On condition that Jollof rice is likely one of the most well-known dishes to come back out of West Africa and attain the remainder of the world, it could be simple to imagine that Jollof is one thing we eat on a regular basis. The truth is, Jollof is way more of a celebratory dish. It’s one thing you would possibly discover on the desk at a celebration, a marriage, naming ceremony, or one other group gathering.
However Nigerians don’t at all times await a giant occasion to have fun. They will flip an on a regular basis gathering into one thing particular, so generally it seems like Jollof rice is at all times round.
And, for those who have fun Christmas, Jollof is a favourite dish to have within the middle of your Christmas feast.
In Nigeria, the Yoruba individuals sing a music across the vacation season that goes: “Keresimesi, odun de odun olowo, Keresimesi odun de odun olomo…” It interprets to, “Christmas is right here, the vacation of the wealthy, Christmas is right here, the vacation of these wanting children…” The music is supposed to seize pleasure, prosperity, and hope, and the meals we make to eat and trade with pals is a giant a part of that vacation spirit.
As a child, I cherished adorning our residence, making garlands with my siblings, and placing up the Christmas tree, however I particularly cherished the meals. All of us took half within the cooking and baking, and Jollof rice was a type of traditional dishes for us. It was a dish we might all collect round, a meal we might share with family and friends whereas we mirrored on the 12 months behind us and regarded to the 12 months forward.
Types of Jollof Rice
As talked about earlier than, there isn’t only one model of Jollof. Everybody has their private household recipes, the additional spices they add, or the components they miss to make it their very own. However the greatest variations in Jollof rice recipes come from completely different nations the place the dish is widespread. It usually goes by completely different names comparable to Jollof, Thiéboudienne, Riz au Gras, or Benachin.
Senegal: Thiéboudienne
Thiéboudienne is Senegal’s model of Jollof rice, and it’s the nation’s nationwide dish. It’s generally additionally referred to as chebu jen, and it’s stated to have originated within the coastal city of Saint Louis in Senegal within the nineteenth century. The identify of the dish comes from Wolof phrases which means ‘rice’ (ceeb) and ‘fish’ (jën).
Thiéboudienne is boldly flavored with combos of fish and greens, and the give attention to seafood is definitely because of the coastal affect. Given the proximity of Saint Louis and different Senegalese cities to the ocean, seafood performs a big function within the delicacies.
The cuts of fish and greens are all cooked in a wealthy tomato base. Much like the Nigerian model, it’s usually a one-pot meal.
Thiéboudienne normally requires just a few distinctive components, together with smoked fish and netetou, which is fermented locust bean powder. In terms of the recent fish you would possibly use, any agency, white fish will work effectively, however grouper or snapper or most genuine.
Widespread greens utilized in Thiéboudienne embody potatoes, cassava, squash, pumpkin, and plantains. In contrast to Nigerian Jollof, Thiéboudienne makes use of damaged rice to make this dish reasonably than parboiled, long-grain rice.
It’s normally served communally on a big tray with the fish and greens organized on high of the rice within the middle.
Elsie Kriz of AFROVITALITYEATS has put collectively a Thiéboudienne recipe for us this month, handed down by her household pal, Ma Seybou. It makes use of seasoned salmon steaks as its fundamental protein and in addition options inexperienced cabbage, cassava root, carrots, eggplant, and our personal Egunsifoods’ Obe Ata soup!
Ghana: Ghanaian-Type Jollof Rice
There are well-known “Jollof Wars” between Nigeria and Ghana – these a fan of the completely different types each insist that their model is healthier. Whichever aspect you come down on, each Nigeria and Ghana supply flavorful takes on this dish.
Within the Ghanaian model of Jollof, raw (not parboiled) long-grain rice is normally used, like Thai jasmine or Basmati rice.
Ghanaian Jollof rice can even normally embody a protein. Goat or lamb meat, or beef, are all frequent additions.
There can also be extra spices utilized in a Ghanaian Jollof rice than a Nigerian Jollof rice recipe. Ghanaian Jollof can also embody ginger and garlic blended into the pepper combine, and/or nutmeg, anise, rosemary, and bay leaves to construct taste, along with the curry powder.
Whereas a number of the accompaniments are much like different variations of Jollof (protein, blended greens, fried plantains, and so forth.), Ghanaian Jollof is usually additionally served with shito, which is a well-liked, sizzling black chili pepper sauce made with smoked herring and crayfish that originates from Ghana.
Abena Foli, one of many founders of POKS Spices, is making our Ghanaian Jollof Rice this month. Abena grew up in Ghana, and when she moved to america, she needed to attempt to fill the hole she noticed – there was an absence of meals merchandise from West Africa in mainstream shops. That’s when she based POKS Spices.
For her recipe, she’s utilizing the Jollof Spice she developed in partnership with Burlap & Barrel.
Cameroon: Cameroonian-Type Jollof Rice
In Cameroon, Jollof rice is usually made with blended greens and cubes of beef. These are blended into the rice and tomato mixture, so that they’re distributed all through the dish.
This offers Cameroonian Jollof (generally spelled “Jellof” in Cameroon) rice a tremendous texture. Every chunk can have a combination of crisp, flavorful beef, cooked greens, and comfortable, wealthy rice.
Kriz at AFROVITALITYEATS has a few completely different Cameroonian Jollof rice recipes. She has a Cameroonian Jollof Rice with Salmon in addition to an Oven-Baked Cameroonian Jollof (pictured above). Her recipes are pretty much like different variations of Jollof, however her oven-baked model goes after one thing slightly bit completely different. Kriz makes use of her Delicate Recent Herbs Mix and lets it bake reasonably than simmer over a burner.
Native Type Jollof Rice
Whereas “native” Jollof rice additionally originates from Nigeria, it’s value mentioning by itself, because it varies a good quantity from Nigerian Jollof.
Native Jollof rice is also referred to as Iwuk Edesi. This identify comes from the Efik individuals in Southeastern Nigeria. It’s made with palm oil (as an alternative of vegetable oil) and different native components like fermented locust beans (Iru), Ugu (pumpkin leaves), spinach or basil (Efinrin), and dried or smoked seafood.
The cooking course of begins equally with a wealthy tomato and pepper base, however then extra of the distinctive taste comes from the palm oil and different native components. Palm oil additionally has a reddish-orange shade, which contributes to the distinct shade of the dish and the very explicit taste and aroma.
For my recipe, I used our Egunsifoods’ Ata Din Din sauce rather than making the Elo Obe base from scratch. The flavors got here out completely. I didn’t use the oil from the Ata Din Din as a result of I needed to make use of the standard palm oil, however for those who determine to go this route, it can save you the oil and use it like a chili oil to reinforce the flavour of your different favourite dishes!
In terms of the ultimate product, texture is necessary – it’s all about getting that excellent