It is amazing how fiction translates into real life experiences in powerful ways.
Kate Young is a food blogger, who works with recipes inspired by books she’s read and loved. Last week, she shared what happened when she read Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah.
She was captivated by Obinze and Ifemelu’s story. No surprise there. Adichie’s novel is lovely and beautifully written. But something else caught her attention. She discovered Jollof rice, the signature West African rice dish. “I kept coming back to the description of this homely, comforting dish,” she recounts. She called up a friend for the recipe and went on to prepare different versions of the recipe until she arrived at one she liked.
See below [ after the image] for the recipe she shared on The Guardian.
Side Note: As a jollof rice connoisseur, I think Young nailed it. But if you consider yourself a jollof rice expert, and you are reading this post, do tell us what you think of Young’s recipe?
Serves 4 as a meal, or more as a side
Ingredients
5 small tomatoes (or one tin chopped tomatoes if you can’t find ones that smell like tomatoes)
2 small red peppers
2 scotch bonnet chillies (this is very much to taste – add more or less as you fancy)
1 red onion
Large pinch flaked sea salt
3tbsp rapeseed oil
250g basmati rice
4tbsp tomato paste
2tsp curry powder
1 stock cube (Maggi is traditional)
Pinch nutmeg
1 small red pepper (chopped into small dice)
1 small green pepper (chopped into small dice)
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Equipment
Knife
Chopping board
Food processor/stick blender/mortar and pestle
Large frying pan
Medium saucepan
Wooden spoon
Fork1 Remove the seeds from the peppers and chillies and chop into large chunks. Slice the tomatoes into quarters and remove their seeds. Top and tail and peel the onion, and slice into large chunks. Place these, along with the salt, into the processor/mortar and blitz or pound to a paste. This can be messy. I refer you to Obinze:
He had already told Nigel many times that Nigerian cooking was not cosmetic, with all that pounding. It was sweaty and spicy and Nigerians preferred to present the final product, not the process.
NB. I have had more than one scotch bonnet/eyes incident. I can’t stress enough – wash your hands well once you’ve finished chopping the chilli.
2 Warm the oil in the frying pan, and tip in the paste. Lower the heat and reduce it until thick, which should take around ten minutes, stirring regularly to prevent it sticking.
3 Meanwhile, you should cook the rice. Rinse it three times in cold water, and then add enough fresh water to cover the rice by 2cm. Put it on to boil, reducing to a simmer once the water is bubbling. Allow to cook (with the lid on) until the water has evaporated to the level of the rice. Turn the heat off and leave the rice to steam in the pot while you finish the sauce.
4 Add the tomato paste, crumbled stock cube, spices and chopped peppers to the paste mixture. Continue to cook for the next five minutes on a low heat, until the pepper has softened to your taste. Remove from the heat, stir the cooked rice through and serve immediately with meat, fish, or on its own.
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Post images from Kate Young’s Instagram page.
Obinna Udenwe March 16, 2016 09:32
I didn't like that the rice was done before it was poured into the paste and turned. The best would be to parboil the rice after washing, then keep aside and cook the pasta -- fresh tomatoes, onions, spice etc as described above, then while simmering add water so it looks like stew and pour the parboiled rice into it. The rice soaks in the stew till it is done.