See recipe below for how to get this. You can use plain coconut milk but toasting the coconut first gives the jollof an extra nutty, or even extra smokey flavour
Rice
2 Cups
Long Grain
Blended Tomato, Pepper and Onion Puree
4 Cups
Blend tomatoes, pepper and onion together. I used 5 tomatoes, 1 onion and the rest of it were a mix of chilli peppers (shombo) and habanero pepper (ata rodo). I generally use 60 to 70% peppers and 30 to 40% tomatoes but the ratio of tomatoes to pepper is up to you. This 4 cups are what I had after blending, you'll need to put the blended puree in a pot and steam the puree after blending until all the water dries up. The puree will reduce to about 2 cups after steaming.
Onion
1 Pieces
Chopped. You can also chop 1 clove of garlic as well but this is optional.
Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoons
Bay Leaf
2 Pieces
Chicken Stock
1 Cups
You can use any other stock; beef, turkey or even vegetable stock if you are vegetarian
Curry Powder
1/2 Teaspoons
Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoons
White Pepper
1/2 Teaspoons
Thyme
3/4 Teaspoons
Salt and Chicken Seasoning Cube
To Taste
I used Maggi, any chicken seasoning/bouillon cube will do
Vegetable Oil
1/2 to 3/4 Cups
You can substitute with coconut oil
Aluminium Foil (Optional)
To cover the pot when cooking the rice. This helps to trap in steam when cooking the rice and contributes to having smokey jollof flavours
Servings
Preparation mode:
I made coconut jollof rice here, this is an updated recipe.
Make the toasted coconut milk
Step 1. Break 1 large coconut, remove from the shell, cut the coconut meat (the white part) into smaller pieces or you can grate with a grater.
Step 2. Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius or 325 degrees fahrenheit, place the coconut in a baking sheet, put it in the oven and let it bake for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the coconut has browned. It’s quite easy for the coconut to burn, so watch it carefully.
***Alternatively, you can do this without an oven. Just place your coconut in a pan(don’t add anything else) and on medium to high heat, let it keep cooking/toasting until it has browned.
Step 3. Put the toasted coconut in a blender, add water and blend the coconut. Then using a fine sieve, strain the coconut milk from the pulp. Get as much milk as you can, actual quantity depends on how much rice you will be cooking. Set the milk aside.
On to the Coconut Jollof Rice Recipe…
Step 1. Wash the rice thoroughly to get rid of as much starch as you can, then soak the rice in hot boiled water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Alternatively you can parboil the rice for about 5 to 10 minutes. After soaking or parboiling, drain the water, wash the rice again and set aside.
Step 2. Again, blend tomatoes, pepper and onion together, then put it in a pot and steam until all the water has dried up and the puree has thickened.
Step 3. Add oil to a pot, heat up, add in the chopped onions and garlic if you will be using, fry for about 3 minutes.
Step 4. Add in the tomato paste, stir so it dissolves in the oil and let it fry for about 2 to 3 minutes until the oil looks a bit “stewed”.
Step 5. Add in the steamed tomato puree, stir and let it simmer for about 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt and seasoning cube, garlic powder, curry powder, white pepper and thyme.
Step 6. Stir and let the sauce cook until done. If you find the sauce dehydrated at any point, add in a little chicken stock to supplement on liquid.
Step 7. Once the sauce is done, add in the chicken stock and let that simmer for about 3 minutes, then add in the toasted coconut milk and the bay leaves. Add enough milk to cook the rice until done. Don’t add too much so the rice won’t come out soggy.
Step 8. Let it simmer for about 3 minutes, then add in the rice.
Step 9. Taste for salt, adjust taste if necessary, then place the aluminium foil over the pot, cover the pot and let the rice cook until done. Be sure to check on the rice and adjust the liquid in the pot if necessary.
