Jollof Rice and Chicken is a popular dish in many African countries. Each country has its own special twist they put on it, and Nigeria is no exception. Typically served with fried or grilled chicken and fried beans, this is one of the best, classic, traditional Nigerian food recipes you will ever taste.
Jollof Rice and Chicken Nigerian Style Recipe-
Ingredients:
- 2 cups (500g or 17 oz.) uncooked long grain white rice
- 500 ml (17 oz.) Fried Tomato Stew (see Nigerian Fried Tomato Stew for the recipe)
- Chicken (whole chicken, drumsticks or chicken breast)
- Pepper and salt (to taste)
- 2 medium onions (chopped)
- 1 cup green peas
- 1 cup chopped into small (1/4”) cubes carrots
- 3 Knorr cubes, de pollo (chicken) flavor (a must ingredient for authentic Nigerian flavor)
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
Directions:
- If you are using a whole chicken, wash and cut it into pieces. Cook in a pot of boiling water, with the thyme, Knorr cubes and chopped onions, until the meat is good and tender. If you can get a hen, your chicken will be tastier and more tender than a rooster, although the rooster will cook a bit faster.
- While the chicken is boiling, put your rice on to parboil. It is cooked enough when it only about halfway as tender as you would want it to be for eating – still quite chewy and a little tough to bite down on.
- After the chicken is boiled to well done and tender, grill it, or pan fry, or broil in an oven. You want the chicken pieces to have a warm, inviting golden brown look, especially if entertaining guests for the meal. Keep the chicken warm in the oven on its lowest warm temperature.
- Now wash your parboiled rice and drain it in a sieve.
- Take your chicken stock and the tomato stew, and into a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Now add in the drained parboiled rice, and add salt and pepper to taste. At this point, the water level in the pot should be even with the level of the rice. Adjust as necessary, because this is the right proportion to be sure the water is all cooked and dried out by the time the rice is perfectly cooked.
- Reduce the heat now, to where the ingredients are cooking at just a lively simmer. Too high of a heat will burn the rice before it can become perfectly cooked. Put the lid on the pot and allow it to simmer until you can tilt the pot and no water is seen seeping down the side of the pot.
- You are done! To serve your Nigerian style Jollof Rice and Chicken, scoop generous portions of the Jollof rice onto your guests’ plates, add a couple pieces of chicken as well, and, also well-loved with this meal, is some Nigerian Fried Beans.