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Date: April 14, 2018Author: tonettacooks 6 Comments
I am going to lay down the rules for making the STARBOY of Jollof, the WAKANDA LEVEL Jollof, the Jollof for the KING that you are!
Welcome my lovelies!
If you are on this page right now, it is probably because often you find that your Jollof rice is sticky, mushy, soft, mashed-potato like, any form but the perfectly forked Jolly Jollof that we Nigerians love (not that Ghanian decoration-yh! it is war!). So I am going to lay down the commandments of Nigerian Jollof rice and trust me after reading this, your Jollof will never fail you! If you want to know how to make Jollof rice, do check out my recipe for Jollof on my blog’s homepage! So let’s get right into it.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS/GUIDELINES OF PREMIUM JOLLOF RICE.
- JOLLOF RICE IS NOT EBA! SO WHY ARE YOU TURNING IT LIKE IT IS? It requires the bare minimum to cook jollof so avoid the turning turning uncle/aunty Gordon Ramsey.
- STOP POURING EVERYTHING IN YOUR SPICE CUPBOARD INTO THE POT ALL IN THE NAME OF SEASONING. That isn’t the way you prepare Jollof, it is supposed to be like you (bare minimum to slay!).
- MAKE SURE THE STARCH IS OUT OF THE RICE. If you don’t know how to parboil rice then you can send me a message on my inquiry page on how to parboil rice properly. Most people go past parboiling the rice and actually add almost cooked rice to the tomato base mixture for the jollof so it soaks up the water and becomes mushy and if you don’t wash the starch out of the rice properly after you parboil rice/wash your rice, it becomes STICKY and that isn’t Jollof but ASARO.
- STEAM COOKS JOLLOF RICE MY LOVE! NOT HEAT! That is why you see most people in Nigeria prepare it with a charcoal stove, so they can steam the jollof properly and achieve the smoky Nigerian party Jollof that we love! But no need to go all out, just make sure you set your cooker to medium-low heat, trust me, the steam will cook the rice!
- JOLLOF REQUIRES PATIENCE. God didn’t do sharp-sharp with you so why are you rushing greatness? Let the rice steam! If you notice it burning, like actually burning then you can pour some water around the edges of the pot, use a wooden spoon to bring the rice at the bottom to the top plus your rice is probably burning because well…..YOUR HEAT IS TOO HIGH!
- OIL! Just because you don’t want your Jollof to stick, doesn’t mean you should pour the whole gallon of oil in, just use in moderation.
- IF YOU WANT THE JOLLOF TO STEAM FASTER, GET ALUMINIUM FOIL THEN WRAP THE LID OF YOUR POT AND COVER. This way, the steam doesn’t escape from the pot and it allows you to steam the rice from both the top and bottom of the pot at the same time.
- FRY YOUR TOMATO BASE PROPERLY! I cant stress this enough, if you don’t fry the tomato base properly the mixture will taste raw to you and that’s why you might decide to pour your spice cupboard in, when it can be avoided.
- IF YOU ARE AFTER A NICE COLOUR TO YOUR JOLLOF, THE TOMATO PASTE GIVES IT THE RED-ORANGE COLOUR WE IDENTIFY WITH BUT IF YOU OVERDO IT YOU WILL GET A SOUR TASTE.So do this in moderation.
- STOP CHECKING THE RICE EVERY 3 MINUTES. This is because when you do, you let the steam out. So leave it for at least 25 – 30 minutes, check, know where it is and from there you should know roughly how many more minutes you have till the Jollof should be done.
So there you have it guys! 10 things to keep in mind when you are about to prepare your JOLLOF!!! Any questions? Make an inquiry!
Catch you later my sweets xx
-Tonetta Ezeani
6 thoughts on “The Dos and Donts of MakingJollof.”
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Thanks so much for the insight.But then,like how many minutes I’m I supposed to parbiol for my jollof rice
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Hi Dora,
Thanks for checking out my recipe.I would recommend for about 20mins in hot water after you have washed out the starch in the food. You just soak it in hot water and then once the 20mins is up, you rinse with cold water to separate the grains then proceed to cooking the Jollof Rice as instructed.
This blog will be closing down by the end of the month. Be sure to check out my website.
http://WWW.TONETTACOOKS.COM
I will be uploading a new and refined recipe for the Jollof Rice.Hope staying home is bearable and talk more soon!
-TonettaLikeLike
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Thanks for the tips. My rice always goes sticky no matter how many times I wash the grains in advance… I wonder if you could offer a little insight. Today I must have washed my rice at least 30 times until the water retained crystal clear… I don’t usually go this far but I’ve being trying optimise and stop the rice from going sticky. My ratio is 1 part rice: 1 part tomato base: 1 part stock. I start by frying my base and adding seasoning cubes and tomato puree. Once I’m happy the raw onion flavour is gone I add my washed basmati and fry for a few minutes before adding my stock. I then cover the pot with foil, put the lid on and transfer to the lowest burner. I leave this on for 30 mins before checking. Then at this point, I mix the rice and voila, its stodgy starchy and sticky. Any idea where I am going wrong? Thanks in advance!
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You Must know how your rice reacts to water volume. This issue is usually cause by the Rice brand. Some rice do not require much water and stir when already heating on fire.
Advice:
Before you start cooking the rice after adding all spice mix, put out the fire under the pot then stir-mix the rice to combine with spice mix.Do not put water above rice level and if that water amount is about to dry up while rice is still hard, add another small cup full or half of a more bigger cup of water to it with a pinch of salt.
With these two methods I assure you the troubles are settled.
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Very helpful thank you so much❤❤
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