One of our goals at The Accra Report is to expose to the world the eclectic beauty of Ghana and the African continent.
In order to achieve this goal, we are always seeking novel ways to showcase Ghana.
With that objective in mind, we will like to introduce to your newest feature, Recipe Tuesdays.
Recipe Tuesdays will feature the recipes of our and your favorite culinary delights.
We will post recipes that we have personally developed and tried, those that have been shared with us by our family and friends, the ones sent in by our readership, and those we have been delighted to find scouring books and the world wide web.
Today we present to you two ways to cook jollof rice the Ghanaian way.
One is a recipe featured in Good Food Recipe magazine and the other is a youtube video tutorial uploaded by Adom Home Cooking that has racked up over 80,000 views.
Although chicken is used in both recipes, you can use any choice of meat for your variation of the recipe. You could also use more mixed vegetables if you prefer to go the vegan way.
The Good Food Recipe
Ingredients
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
3 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
1 large onion, halved and sliced
3 tbsp tomato purée
1 chicken stock cube
400g basmati rice
1 red pepper, deseeded and thickly sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thickly sliced
100g okra, halved
bunch coriander, roughly chopped, to serve
For ginger and chilli base
2 garlic cloves
2 x 400g cans plum tomatoes
thumb-size piece fresh root ginger
1 scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded
Method
1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large deep frying pan over a high heat then add the meat and fry for about 5 minutes till golden all over. Lift out of the pan onto a plate.
2. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and fry the onions until soft but not golden, about 5 minutes. While the onions cook, make the ginger and chilli base. Put the garlic, tomatoes, ginger and chilli into a food processor or blender and whizz till smooth.
3. Add the tomato purée to the onions, fry for another 2 mins then add the ginger and chilli mix. Crumble in the stock cube, stir then pour in 600ml boiling water. Add the chicken, bring to the boil then simmer for 15 minutess.
4. Put the rice into a large bowl, cover with cold water and use your hands to wash the grains. Tip the water out then repeat twice until the water runs clear. Add the rice to the pan, turn the heat down to a simmer then cover with foil and a lid (so no steam can escape) and cook for 20 minutess.
5. Take the lid off (the rice won’t be cooked yet) then scatter the peppers and okra over the rice. Re-cover and cook for 10 minutes until the veg is softened and the rice tender. Just before serving, mix the veg through and scatter over coriander.
*(It is our personal preference to not include okra in our recipe)
The Adom Home Cooking Recipe
Adom Home Cooking -Jollof Rice the Ghanaian style !
The emphasis on the Ghanaian way in this feature is because there are different ways of cooking this wonderful dish, which originated among the Wolof ethnic group in the Senegambia region of West Africa.
In true West Africa fashion, each West African country lays claim to cooking the most delicious jollof rice.
Please share with us your epicurean experience with jollof rice, including your recipe of the best jollof rice you have ever tasted or just where to find it if you do not have the recipe.