Preeti Bangin’ Jollof Rice

You’re going to love this version of Jollof Rice which is a specialty dish in West Africa. This vegetarian meal will bang on your tastebuds and leave you wanting more. Jollof Rice is often eaten with lots of different sides like Fried Plantains, Sautéed Veggies, Stewed Chicken or Beef, etc.

Here’s what’s in it:

4 Cups of Parboiled Rice – (I rinse and soak rice in warm water)
3 Cups of Blended Red Sauce (Blend in Blender for 10 Mins to get fine consistency)
- 3 Assorted Bell Peppers
- 3 Scotch Bonnet Pepper – You can opt to just put one depending on how spicy you want it.
- 30 oz of Crushed or Diced Tomatoes
- 1 Cup of Tomato Paste
- 1 Yellow Onion
2 Cups of Vegetable Oil
1 Yellow Onion – Sliced and Diced
1 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon of Thyme
2 Bay Leaves
1 Tablespoon of Adobo
1 Tablespoon of Curry Powder
1 Tablespoon of Mc Cormick Old Bay Seasoning – (Celery Salt, Red and Black Pepper and Paprika)
3 Maggie Seasoning Cubes – Crushed
3 Cups of Vegetarian and Chicken Broth – I opted for the Vegetarian Broth.

How to prepare:

Rinse and presoak parboiled rice in warm water – this allows the rice to get softer while preparing the red sauce.
Prepare red sauce by combining all the ingredients for the red sauce in a blender and blend for 10 mins or until consistency is fine.
Add Vegetable to a pan on the stove and turn the heat to High, it should take about 3 mins for the oil to get hot in the red copper pan, then turn the heat down to medium and add diced onions and minced garlic, sauté the onions for 3 mins and add the blend red sauce to pan and stir, add thyme, bay leaves, adobo, curry powder, old bay seasoning and crushed Maggie cubes. Stir all the seasoning together into the sauce and cover the pan for 5 mins.
Drain water from Presoaked parboiled rice and then add the rice to the sauce, add broth to the mixture, then stir to make sure the rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Continue stirring and then cover the pan and let the rice cook for 20 mins, stir intermittently, at every 8-10 mins and stir to make rice does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and let the rice cook for another 5 mins and it should now be ready to serve.