The Whole Story:
In a bustling kitchen fragrant with spices, laughter, and sometimes tears, there existed the legendary "jollof wars" – a delicious rivalry not between countries, but within the walls of my own home. While Nigerians and Ghanaians playfully quarreled over who held the crown for the best jollof rice, little did they know, the true origins of this dish lay in the Senegambia region, far from our family’s spirited debates. My story, however, begins not with the pride of culinary heritage, but with a profound distaste for the kitchen, a realm ruled by my mother, a caterer of unparalleled skill and the unwavering belief that her daughter should inherit this culinary throne.
As a child, the kitchen was my battleground, armed with nothing but ginger, onions, tomatoes, and garlic. The onions were my fiercest opponents, their pungent aroma launching attacks that left me in tears. How I loathed those EARLY mornings, chopping and dicing under my mother’s watchful eye, dreaming of escape. Why would my mom give me such a trivial task. She could’ve prepped this food herself I often mumbled to myself making sure my mother couldn’t hear me...
But kitchens, as I would learn, are not just about cooking.
They are womanist spaces where history simmers on the stove, where family stories are the secret ingredients that flavor each dish. Amidst the sizzling and stirring, I discovered that my mother and aunties were not merely guardians of culinary traditions but women of dreams and aspirations, architects of our family’s past, present and future. They were career women, sacrificers, dreamers, and doers, each recipe a chapter in their extraordinary tales.
In my home, being entrusted to make the jollof rice for a special occasion was akin to being knighted.
Imagine then, the mix of dread and honor when the torch was passed to me, tasked with preparing jollof rice for the first time. With the weight of legacy on my shoulders, I ventured forth, only to burn the tomato base – the sacred foundation upon which the entire dish depended. The kitchen air, thick with disappointment, carried my mother’s stern admonition that cooking was not a trivial skill but a survival art, a testament to one’s integral role in the family.
Tears of frustration gave way to determination as I embarked on my culinary journey, each attempt at jollof rice bringing me closer to perfection. What I once saw as a chore transformed into a labor of love, a bridge connecting me to my heritage and the incredible women who paved the way. The secret ingredient, I realized, wasn’t just in the spices, but in the love woven into every step, from the first chop to the last stir. As my skills flourished, so did my understanding that:
To feed a family is a duty of care and love, to honor the past while nurturing the future.
My jollof rice, once a symbol of culinary defeat, became a dish celebrated by family and friends, a testament to a legacy of resilience, love, and laughter. And in this journey, the kitchen transformed from a battlefield to a sanctuary, a place where dreams are shared, sacrifices are acknowledged, and love is the most precious ingredient of all.
Serves: A Family
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
- long grain rice (Thai Jasmine or Basmati)
- vegetable oil
- large onion, diced
- cloves
- garlic
- minced fresh ginger, grated
- scotch bonnet pepper (or habanero pepper), chopped
- tomato puree (paste)
- seasoning cube/bouillon/maggi cube
- tomatoes, chopped
- thyme
- white and black pepper
- curry
- seasoned salt
- hot water or stock/broth
- meat of choice (corned beef, chicken, beef, lamb)
- peas
- carrots
Equipment:
- blender
- knife
- large pot
- spoon
- foil
How to make Ghana Jollof Rice:
- Rinse your rice and start some water boiling (for soaking the rice in step 7). (The rice is washed to remove excess starchiness, which can make the final dish gloopy or sticky.)
- To make the stew base, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Fry the onions until golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger a few seconds before adding the tomato paste/puree. Fry for just under a minute.
- Add the thyme and bouillon cube, followed by the tomatoes and scotch bonnet pepper.
- Cook the sauce for about 15-20 minutes. Stir continuously to make sure it is not burning at the bottom.
- Next, add all the meat and stir to make sure it's coated in the sauce. Continue cooking.
- While the sauce is cooking, soak the rinsed rice in some boiling water until the stew base is ready.
- Once the stew is thick, with an oily film forming on the surface, remove half the meat stew from the pot and set it aside for serving. (This is a preference particular to Ghanaians, who will often eat jollof rice with additional stew on the side.)
- Strain the soaked rice and add it to the pot. Season to taste carefully.
- Top up the pot with enough water or broth. For those with an experienced eye for rice, this would normally be about 500ml (2 cups). (You may need to add more later if the rice is still hard.) Stir to mix, then bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat.
- Once simmering nicely and the moisture has nearly all gone, add the peas and carrots. Then cover with parchment paper right above the rice (to lock in moisture and add natural cooking pressure). Close with an airtight lid.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
- Taste the rice. Once the grains are cooked it is ready.
- The bottom of the pot will have a layer of caramelized jollof with concentrated flavor. For those who want a smoky flavour, raise the heat back to high for a few minutes, and allow the bottom of the pot to toast. Take off the heat and your rice is smoky and ready to eat! Washing the pot will be interesting afterwards, but nothing a good soaking can’t fix.