Ghanaian Jollof Rice
The main ingredients of the dish are rice, tomatoes, and onions. The rest of the
ingredients can vary greatly according to everyone’s taste. For example,
vegetarians prefer to have the dish with mixed vegetables and without any meat
products, while many other people prefer to have the dish with meat, chicken,
turkey, or fish. For this recipe I have chosen to make it vegetarian
with mixed vegetables and beans.
Ingredients:
3 large tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic (you can add more according
to your choice)
2 large onions
A
bit of fresh ginger, (like 2 cm long)
2 cups (800 grams) of basmati rice (long grain
rice)
1 chilie (optional, you can add more
according to your choice)
1 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 spoons of vegetable oil
Salt and ground black pepper (according to
taste)
7 dl of water or stock (you can also add one or two stock cubes for a better seasoning)
300
gr mixed vegetables of soybeans, red beans, corn and carrots
Directions:
Rince
the uncooked rice with cold water until the water is clear. Soak the rice in
water for 30 minutes. Sift the rice and pour in a pan with water. Cook for 10
minutes in boiling water. The rice should be half cooked. Sift the rice again and
rince under cold water.
Cut the tomatoes into big cubes and blend then
using a blender, cut the garlic cloves into halves and press them, and then
slice the rest of the onions into medium pieces. Cut the ginger in
small pieces. In a non-stick pot,
add the vegetable oil and heat it for 1-2 minutes. Add the onions to the pot
and fry them until they become soft. Add the garlic cloves and ginger and fry all together with the onions for one more
minute while stirring continuously, and then add the blended tomatoes, the water, the stock cube, salt, black pepper, the
chilies, the tomato paste, and stir them all together. You should pay attention
to the seasoning, as the rice will be cooked later in this mix. Cook on medium
heat for 5-10 minutes until the mix starts boiling. After boiling I mix the sauce with a mixer/blender to get a smooth sauce.
You
could continue to cook the rice in the pot but I do the rest in the
oven. So place the rice in a baking tray. Add the mixed vegetables and beans and stir. Then
add the sauce and stir so all mixes. Cover the baking tray with foil and then bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes on 200 degrees Celsius.
Take
it out and stir all the rice around to see how far the cooking process has
come. If it is still a bit moist and not cooked cover again and put it back in
the oven for another 20 minutes.
Take
it out again and see if it is ready. The rice should be soft and dry and not
sticky.
