Who Else Wants To Know The Mystery Behind Jellof Rice An African Delicacy?

A special Nigerian dish which is very delicious and most time spicy is almost everyone' favorite food. "Jellof Rice" is very popular and is served in majority of the restaurants and fast food chains in most parts of the country and it is usually served during occasions like birthday parties, weddings, child christening and other ceremonies. There is a difference in the taste of jellof rice when it is prepared for big occasions like birthday parties and when it is cooked on a Sunday afternoon at home for family consumption. When Jellof Rice is cooked for Parties, it always has this distinct smoky and earthy flavor, this taste is very popular and people have renamed Jellof Rice and now call it "Party Rice". Most individuals could always tell the different between party rice and home Jellof rice because of the distinct flavor in the Party Rice.

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Jellof Rice is also famous in other parts of Africa

What you can see on the plate is called "Jellof rice" this dish one of the famous food in Africa, especially in Nigeria, Senegal and different parts of Africa have different ways of making this dish, the different Jellof Rice can be distinguished because of the ingredients used to prepare them. Senegalese Jellof rice is different from Nigerian Jellof rice because of the kind of vegetable used to cook it. Nigerians use peas, sweet corn, carrots green beans, while Senegalese used cabbage potatoes and carrots. They both taste delicious when cooked but distinct because of the ingredients used. 

Senegalese Jellof Rice

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Preparing Jellof Rice 

Lets start with the Jellof rice. The preparation is very simple, Jellof rice is made with rice and other meat and vegetable ingredients, it actually reminds me of the popular Spanish paella, but this is quite different and when it is well prepared you will be able to enjoy a very rich and delicious meal with spicy flavor that you couldn't resist, you would want to eat this all day long!

Ingredients needed for the Jellof Rice is:

It is best to start with the broth that would be used in preparation of the food to give it its delicious taste:

 1 kg of chicken

2 tsp of thyme

2 tsp curry powder

2 maggie cubes

1 tsp of ajino moto

6 pcs of large bay leaves

2 large onions chopped

2 table spoons of chili powder

1 teaspoon of iodized salt

2 cups of water

Put all the ingredients listed above into a medium sized cooking pot cook at high heat and let it boil for 15- 20 minutes maximum. This way the broth will be very tasty and will be later used to add deliciousness to the rice.

When  the broth is cooked remove from heat and set it aside. When it has cooled a bit, remove the meat and set aside for frying and the drain the liquid using a sieve. The drained liquid would be used for cooking rice later. 

Deep-fry the chicken for about 10-12 minutes  and remove from heat when it is dark brown. Drain the oil and set it aside.

For the rice:

750g of partially cooked rice

1/2 cup of boiling water

Put the rice in a skillet and recook with the meat stock. When the water dries from the rice and it is cooked remove from heat and set aside. this procedure usually takes around 10-15 minutes. and you can also use a rice cooker.

Preparation of paste

Ingredients needed for the paste:

200g of tomato paste

4 large red bell peppers chopped

1 tbsp chili powder

1 large onion chopped

1/2 cup of cooked green peas

1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1/2 cup of chopped green beans

1/2 cup of sweet corn

1 cup of small peeled shrimps

6 tbsp of cooking oil

1/2 Maggie cube

 1/2 tsp curry

1/2 tsp dried thyme

Procedure

Step 1

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat add the onions and stir till its cooked, add the tomatoes and cook.

Step 2

When the onions and bell pepper is proper cooked add the tomato paste, chili powder, maggie, curry and thyme stir continuously for 10 minutes so it would not burn, cook over medium heat as well.

Step 3

Add in the carrots, and green beans, when its a bit tender add in the shrimps, green peas and sweet corn let it sit for another 10 minutes. remember to stir the paste continuously so it wouldn't burn. Set aside when it is done.

Finally scoop the rice and the paste and combine them together in a pot, make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed by properly mixing everything.  Let it cook for about 20 minutes, cooking make sure the pot is air tight so all the ingredients can lock-in the rice. Use a foil to cover the pot before using the cover of the pot.

When it is cooked you can served it with the fried chicken and vegetable salad or coleslaw.  In Nigeria, it is usually served with moi-moi(beans cake) or fried plantain and it is very 

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This is one recipe that i would recommend for everyone to try, it is finger-licking delicious!!!