The Art of Cooking Nigerian Jollof Rice. (2024)

The first time I tried to make jollof rice without parboiling the rice, it was a disaster. So, tell me why I come online and see a girl being questioned for parboiling her rice before mixing with her tomato mix??? in Naija?

I love making jollof rice without parboiling it now, it enhances the flavor of the rice and helps it imbibe that smoky smell and feel. I just used to think that parboiling the rice was a Nigerian thing, that’s how my mother makes it, and I thought all Nigerian mothers think and act alike.

In my defense, there’s a lot of things I did wrong on that first try. The first would be that I CANNOT cook in bulk. I’m learning now, but it was horrible at some point. I think an important thing to note in cooking is the right proportion of ingredients to use for your food, it helps in bulk cooking through multiplication. Too much stew will make your jollof burn quick, too much water, though, will produce a soggy jollof.

However, I also understand the importance of the process itself: the right amount and time of stirring, the type of pot, yes, the type of pot, steam generation, and cooking time. Believe it or not, learning the art of making jollof rice will give you a satisfaction you didn’t think you could get. Imagine not messing up jollof rice, imagine being able to fix jollof rice. Mind-blowing, huh?

I’ll address as many points as I’ve listed as I tell you about the first time that I made perfect smoky jollof without parboiling the white rice. On this particular day I wanted to make a one-pot jollof rice — less time and commitment, less dishes to wash.

I proceed to fry the chicken first, and the same oil is used to make the stew for the jollof rice. I do this because, the chicken juice kinda seeps out in frying and it was an added bonus, as I was not going to be using any chicken stock. After frying, some extra juice was expelled from the chicken too.

Next, I fry the onions, garlic and ginger. At this point, the smell around is heavenly, I step up my game by adding spices, frying spices with the onions and aromatics enhances the flavor of the food wayyyy better. I only use curry and thyme, so those babies go in. After they fry for a bit, I add tomato paste and allow it fry till it gets really dry and completely dispersed in the hot oil.

Tomato paste does this thing, it makes the tomato-pepper mix dry faster, I don't know how it happens, but it does. So, I stir-fry the tomato paste for about 8–10 minutes on low heat before adding the tomato-pepper mix and allowing to fry till dry, low heat too — we need this to cook to perfection. At this point, the oil is floating, the tomato mix looks porous and curdled, not smooth.

Remember that extra juice that seeped out of the fried chicken, that goes in now, and then I add in salt, seasoning cubes — you know it’s the Knorr way here — and crayfish. That soaks in for a bit and then extra water goes in, I leave that to come to boil. My stew mix plus the water gives a ratio of 2:1 to the rice.

The washed rice goes in when the stew mix begins to boil. It needs to be introduced in a really hot space because it’ll reduce the temperature of the mixture and if the mix isn’t already boiling, it’ll take a while to reattain the required temperature, this may cause the rice to absorb water and become soggy.

Sogginess can also occur if the rice is stirred too much, so I stir carefully till combined — no greater concentration of stew anywhere else, especially the bottom of the pot — and allow to cook in a properly sealed pot, on low heat. We need the inner contents to be hot enough to not focus on just drying moisture, but on producing the steam that does the work.

25–30 minutes is a good time to allow the jollof rice cook, depending on size, though. After 15 minutes, the jollof rice can then be stirred for the first time, constant stirring = sogginess. At this point, more water can be added if needed and that fried chicken can be placed on top before covering to cook the rest of the way.

The good thing about a non-stick cookware is that it will continue to cook without burning even when the water rests on the rice without drying as it should. Can anyone relate? A normal pot will take that as a sign to begin the burning process, but a non-stick pot will continue to produce steam from that moisture to cook the rice. At this point, some sort of understanding is established and stirring can become constant, to reduce burning rate.

Even distribution of heat and steam in the non-stick pot creates that smoky feel and causes fluffy, well-cooked. Ready to serve and enjoy.

Did I leave anything out? Feel free to share!