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Jollof rice – a popular dish from West African countries

Jollof rice  – a popular dish from West African countries

Jollof  is a dish prepared from rice, tomatoes and usually meat or fish widely eaten in some West African countries including Ghana. It is a popular dish for special occasions and a delicacy for children in particular. It is probably the main dish on the menu of every child’s party in Ghana. There are slight variations of jollof rice from household to household. One can use whatever meat and vegetables you have on hand; chicken, beef, ham, sausage, shrimp, fish or pork and vegetables like beans, carrots, mushrooms and peppers.

The dish requires about 15 minutes of preparation and an hour and half of cooking time.

Today Mrs Eugenia Manful is going to show you how to prepare Jollof rice. Mrs Manful is a Ghanaian national. She lives with her family in Tema, a town which is located 25 km east of the national capital, Accra, and works as a Chief Revenue Officer under the Ghana Revenue Authority. She loves to cook traditional dishes from her country for her family and friends.

Ingredients

•             6 tablespoon oil.
•             1 kg boneless beef cut into small pieces.
•             5 cups of water or stock.
•             2 chopped onions.
•             1 tablespoon garlic chili paste.
•             1 kg non sticky rice.
•             200 gm tomato paste.
•             6 big fresh tomatoes chopped or blended.
•             1 large bell pepper cut into pieces.
•             4 carrots, peeled and chopped.
•             10 green beans cut into 2 inch pieces.
•             Salt to taste.
•             Spices (optional).

 

Preparation

1.            Heat the oil in a large pot.
2.            Add the beef and fry until it turns brown on all sides.
3.            Remove the beef to another pan.
4.            Add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes.
5.            Add chili and garlic paste and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
6.            Add the tomato paste and blended fresh tomatoes.
7.            Cook for 5 to 7 minutes.
8.            Add water or stock, spices, fried beef and rice.
9.            Add salt to taste.
10.         Cook for 10 minutes on low heat.
11.         Add vegetables and cook for another 10 minutes.
12.         Keep stirring from time to time until the rice is cooked.
13.         Serve with cooked vegetables, grilled chicken or fried fish, tomato or pepper sauce.

AfricaRice GRiSP Theme 4 Leader Dr John Manful said "it has lot of vegetables as well as meat and rice. Although there are several other things that go with it, the  Jollof rice as we make it is a complete meal in itself."

Bon appétit!

Podcast credit : Savitri Mohapatra, R.Raman, AfricaRice

Africa Rice Recipes – WAAKYE - a popular dish from Ghana made with rice and beans

Waakye (pronounced waa-chay) is a popular dish from Ghana made with rice and beans. The dish requires about 15 minutes of preparation and an hour and half of cooking time. Ingredients 2 cups of rice 1 cup of red beans or black-eyed peas or any kind of beans or peas 4 dry sorghum leaves (if you do not have sorghum leaves, you can use 1 teaspoon of baking soda instead.) Salt to taste 10 cups of water Preparation Wash and soak the beans in water for 3-4 hours. Drain the beans and place them in a large pot with water. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it cook for about 45 minutes Wash the sorghum leaves. Cut the leaves into lengths of 3 to 4 inches, toss them in with the boiling beans and allow them to cook together. If sorghum leaves are not available, add a teaspoon of baking soda to give the Waakye its characteristic color. Remove the sorghum leaves from the beans after 5 minutes Wash the rice and add to the beans in the pot, along with more water. Allow the mixture to cook for about 15-20 minutes (or until the beans are tender and rice is cooked and all liquid has been totally absorbed.) Watch out that the mixture does not burn and keep stirring while it cooks Season with salt Serve the dish with pepper sauce, boiled eggs and/or a stew of, fish, chicken, beef or vegetables. Bon appétit! Recipe author : Eugenia Manful,  Ghana Revenue Authority, Accra, Ghana Guests : John Manful, AfricaRice, Benin Jemima, CSIR-Food Research Institute, Accra, Ghana Abimbola Olukemi Sanni, AfricaRice, Benin Seth Graham Acquaah, AfricaRice, Benin Yvette Singbo Dossa, AfricaRice, Benin Podcast credit : Savitri Mohapatra, R.Raman, AfricaRice

Thiebou dieune : Senegal’s rice and fish dish

Africa Rice Recipes Thiebou dieune : Senegal’s rice and fish dish A number of rice dishes are prepared in Senegal, a country situated in West Africa. But the most popular rice dish is ‘Thiebou dieune ’, a richly flavored combination of fresh fish, rice and vegetables. The name of the dish is derived from ‘ Thieb ’, which in local Wolof language means rice and ‘ dieune ’, which means fish. Mrs Mariama Dieng, from Senegal, who works at the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), will show you how Thiebou dieune  is prepared. This dish requires about 30-40 minutes of preparation time and about 1 and 1/2 hours of cooking time. To prepare Thiebou dieune  for 4 persons, you will need the following ingredients: • 1 large (about 2-kg) fish (preferably a grouper or any other white fish), rinsed and cut into 4 large chunks • 250 grams of tomato concentrate • 1/2 liter of peanut or vegetable oil • 1 kg of rice (Senegalese prefer to use broken rice for this recipe, but you can use normal rice) • 100 grams of dried fish such as stockfish rinsed • 200 grams of carrots peeled • 200 grams of cassava peeled • 1 small cabbage chopped into large chunks • 4 okra (optional) • 4 sweet potatoes peeled • 2 eggplants with the stems removed and cut in two • 4 small turnips peeled • 1 onion • 1 clove garlic • 3 green chilli peppers • 1 bunch fresh parsley • 1 small green bell pepper • 1 Jumbo cube (if you are unable to find it, you could substitute a fish- or shrimp-flavored Maggi cube) • Salt to taste • 1 tablespoon black pepper Preparation 1. Deseed and cut in half the bell pepper. Slice the onion and chop finely the parsley. Peel the garlic clove and cut into 2 pieces. 2. Make a paste by grinding together the parsley, half of the bell pepper, half tablespoon of the black pepper, and half of the garlic clove with a mortar and pestle or in a grinder. Add a pinch of salt. 3. Using a knife, make a hole in each chunk of fish, but be careful not to make the cut all the way through. Stuff the holes with this paste. 4. Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a large pan and fry the fish pieces for about 3-4 minutes on both sides. Remove the fish and set aside. 5. In the same pan, fry half of the sliced onion, the remaining half of the bell pepper and one chilli pepper. Add the tomato concentrate (dilute with a little water), let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, pour 1 liter of water and add salt. Bring the mixture to a boil for 5 minutes. 6. Then add all the vegetables, the washed dried fish along with the remaining chilli peppers, cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. 7. Grind together the remaining black pepper, garlic, onion, bell pepper with the Jumbo cube. 8. Pour this paste into the pan and add the fried fish. Reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer another 15 minutes. 9. Remove the fish pieces and all the vegetables with a little sauce. Leave the rest of the sauce in the pan. 10. Wash the rice and half-cook it (preferably using a steamer). Remove the half-cooked rice from the steamer and stir it in the pan with the remaining sauce. Cook it for 15 minutes (watch and stir every 5 minutes). 11. Spoon the cooked rice in a large serving platter, arrange the fish and vegetables over the rice and garnish with lemon wedges. Bon appétit! According to Dr. Jean Moreira, a Senegalese national, this is how an authentic Thiebou dieune  is cooked. A wide variety of vegetables and fish can be used, making Thiebou dieune  a versatile and healthy dish. Disclosing the secret behind the Senegalese preference for broken rice in preparing Thiebou dieune , rather than long grain rice, he explains that the broken rice seems to better absorb the sauce and is more pleasing to the taste. Host : Mariama Dieng, Ibnou Dieng, AfricaRice, Benin Guest : Kyoko Saito, Kazuki Saito, AfricaRice, Benin Podcast credit : Savitri Mohapatra, R.Raman, AfricaRice, Benin