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Jollof Rice

Name: Jollof Rice
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 600 g Chicken thighs; 400 g Long-grain rice; 400 g Ripe tomatoes; 200 g Red bell pepper; 200 g Onion; 1 piece Scotch bonnet pepper; 60 g Tomato paste; 600 ml Chicken stock; 4 cloves Garlic cloves; 10 g Fresh ginger; 8 g Curry powder; 3 sprigs Fresh thyme sprigs; 2 leaves Bay leaves; 50 ml Sunflower oil; 10 g Fine sea salt

Long-grain rice cooked down in a smoky, deep red pepper-and-tomato sauce with chicken until every grain is stained through, the base coaxed into a prized crust at the bottom of the pot.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 55 min
Difficulty: Easy

About this dish

Jollof rice traces back to the Wolof empire of West Africa and the one-pot rice dishes that spread from it across the region, each country now claiming its own version — Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and others all insist theirs is the real one, a rivalry serious enough to have its own name, the "Jollof Wars," fought out yearly on social media as much as at the table. The Nigerian style leans on a deeply reduced pepper base for a smokier, more intense red than its neighbours, and the burnt, slightly crisp layer that forms at the bottom of the pot, called party rice or smoky jollof depending who's asking, is considered the best part rather than a mistake.

Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Chicken thighs, Chicken stock

Ingredients

4servings

600gChicken thighs
400gLong-grain rice
400gRipe tomatoes
200gRed bell pepper
200gOnion
1pieceScotch bonnet pepper
60gTomato paste
600mlChicken stock
4clovesGarlic cloves
10gFresh ginger
8gCurry powder
3sprigsFresh thyme sprigs
2leavesBay leaves
50mlSunflower oil
10gFine sea salt

Instructions

Blend the tomatoes, red pepper, half the onion and the scotch bonnet into a smooth purée.
10 min
Tip: Blend it completely smooth, not chunky — a coarse purée cooks unevenly and never reduces into the thick, clinging sauce jollof needs.
Brown the chicken in the oil, remove, then fry the remaining onion, garlic and ginger with the curry powder, thyme and bay leaf until fragrant.
15 min
Tip: Browning the chicken first and setting it aside means it goes back in later without overcooking — it only needs to finish through in the rice, not cook from raw twice.
Add the pepper purée and tomato paste to the pot and cook down for 15–20 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens and reduces significantly.
10 min
Tip: This reduction is the step people rush and shouldn't — a thin, unreduced base gives watery, pale jollof instead of the deep, smoky-red result you're after.
Return the chicken to the pot, add the stock and rice, season with salt, cover tightly and cook on low heat for 25–30 minutes without stirring, until the rice is tender.
30 min
Tip: Resist stirring once the rice goes in — disturbing it breaks up the grains and stops the bottom layer from forming the prized, faintly smoky crust jollof is known for.