African Jollof Rice with Beef

Africa’s endearing one-pot rice dish Jollof is made using tomato gravy and fried beef. It is a popular West African dish, suitable for any occasion – whether you are having guests over for dinner or just cooking for the family.

Preparing the beef: Put 2 cups cubed beef, 1 small onion (chopped), 3 cloves of garlic (chopped) and 1 bouillon cube into a saucepan and add one and a half cups of water. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add 3 tbs oil into a heat resistant pot, then add the cooked beef and sauté for 2 minutes. Add 1 medium sized onion, sliced and 2 -3 cloves of chopped garlic.

Sauté for about 2 more minutes. Add 3 tbs tomato paste and 1 chicken bouillon cube and stir well.

Add about ¼ cup of water, then add ¼ teaspoon curry powder, ½ teaspoon ground paprika and ¼ teaspoon white pepper.

Let the sauce simmer for 3 minutes.

Add 3 cups of vegetable stock or water and add 2 carrots cut into coin shape and 1 cup of green beans cut up into one inch pieces. Add 2 cups rice (washed and soaked Basmati or any long grain variety rice) and close the lid.

Allow to boil for 2 minutes. Stir and lower heat (To about one level above the lowest setting of heat)

Cover the top of the pan with a paper towel before closing the lid and allow the rice to cook until soft.

Check after 20 minutes and stir. If the rice is hard, add a little more water, stir and cover. Adding more salt is optional since you are using bouillon and stock, which already has salt.

Check again in 10 minutes. The rice is cooked – if you squeeze a grain between your thumb and index finger and the centre feels soft.

Garnish with your choice of vegetables and serve.

Variations:

1. Use chicken instead of beef.
2. Cook it with vegetables and serve with barbecued chicken on the side (Especially if there are vegetarians among your guests)

By Yvonne Tagoe

Yvonne is a journalist and the mother of two bright young women. She is from Ghana, but Canada is her second home.  She is passionate about news and the human condition. She loves to read and to write. Cooking, to Yvonne, is more of a hobby than a chore. Her love for travelling has taken her to Cuba, to the US and to Japan, with more places to follow. She enjoys writing poetry. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvonne-tagoe-48b20010/