One Pot Cameroonian Jellof/Jollof Rice
Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Birthday Parties are just some of the celebratory events where you can see Cameroonian Jellof Rice at the center of the table served in mom’s most expensive chafing dish. This one pot dish which consists of rice cooked in a tomato based sauce is a signature dish in Cameroon and in other West African countries ( like Nigeria, Benin Republic,Togo, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and the SeneGambia) where it’s often called “Jollof Rice”.
History records that this renowned dish originated in the SeneGambia region of West Africa. In the Wollof/Jollof Empire during the 14th-16th century, the Portuguese created a coastal trade zone and introduced commodities including tomatoes to Senegal. At the time, rice and grain cultivation was prominent in Senegal and were used often in many dishes. Out of these two major ingredients, rice and tomatoes, came the Sengalese thieboudienne “Senegalese Jollof Rice.'' As the Portuguese continued to explore the coast of Africa and gained territories, they took along with them the original jollof rice recipe and introduced it into the food culture of the new territories. Additionally, through human migration, the jollof rice recipe crossed geographic borders into other West African countries where each country adopted their own variations of this dish.
Thus resulting in the Jellof/Jollof wars we witness today! Of course, as I am Cameroonian I must say that Cameroonian Jellof is the best of all. The Cameroonian jellof variation is made by adding mixed vegetables with beef cubes into the rice and tomato combination. My most cherished memories of eating Jellof was during birthday celebrations when I was younger. Jellof Rice was served in an “ALUBASA TRAY” … or was it pronounced Alabaster Tray? However it was pronounced you knew what it was if you ever say a very BIIIGGGG round metallic tray with multifunctional uses sitting on the table. Since Alubusa trays were common in serving food for a communal dining, we would all gather around this tray and enjoy Jellof rice together. Come and see chopping!! After this sweet and savory dish was fully consumed, sleep quickly followed. Soon after we would awake with a desire for round two!
Cameroonian Jellof rice has an amazing play on texture. You can taste the crispiness of the chopped beef and freshly cooked veggies alongside the soft and flavorful rice. But above all of this, the absolute best gastronomic experience of Jellof Rice lay at the very bottom of the pot; the BURNING! BURNING! My goodness! I’m talking about the slightly burnt rice at the bottom of the Jellof pot that gives it a distinctly smoky-ness flavor. Till this day, siblings, cousins, families and friends will fight over who will get to enjoy it. If your mouth is watering already, let’s get right into this simple Cameroonian Jellof Rice recipe! Click play on the video below to cook along with me or scroll past the video to follow the written instructions.
Dish: Cameroonian Jellof/Jollof Rice
Country: Cameroon
C A M E R O O N I A N J E L L O F / J O L L O F R I C E
Jollof Rice Ingredients
a. 6 Cups Parboiled Rice
b. 6 Large Fresh Tomatoes Puree
c. 1 (oz) Canned Tomato Paste
d. ½ Cup of Kengs’ Kitchen’s All-Purpose Green Spice Marinade (Full Recipe)
e. 3 Red Bell Peppers Puree
f. 4 Medium Carrots Chopped
g. 2 Cups Green Beans Chopped
h. ½ Teaspoon Curry Powder
i. ½ Teaspoon White Pepper
j. ½ Teaspoon Anise
k. 1 Cup Cooking Oil
l. 1 Pound Beef Cubes
m. Bouillion to taste
Jollof Rice Instructions
1. Wash the meat and pour it into a pot. Add salt, bouillon and six cups of water. Mix well and cook on medium heat until the meat is done.
2. Turn off the stove and remove the meat from the pot and set the pot aside for the broth to cool.
3. Place a clean pot on the stove, add cooking oil and allow it to heat up. Stir fry the meat on medium heat until it’s golden brown then remove and set aside.
4. Add the tomato paste, the tomato puree, and red bell pepper puree into the same pot of oil and mix well. Allow the tomato sauce to cook on low heat while stirring intermittently to prevent it from burning until it’s cooked.
Note: Uncooked tomatoes have a sour taste; but this taste gradually fades when cooking tomato base stews for a long time. Taste the sauce and if it's sour, continue to cook it on low heat until you can no longer taste the sourness.
5. Wash the parboiled rice under running tap water until the colors of the rice water change from being cloudy to transparent to remove the starch suspension.
6. Pour the rice into the pot and add curry powder, white pepper, anise, the Keng’s Kitchen’s All Purpose Green Spice Marinade, and the beef broth. Adjust the taste with salt and bouillon to your preference if needed and mix well for all the ingredients to combine.
7. Cover the pot with a layer of parchment paper/fuel wrap first; then cover the pot with the lid. Allow the pot to cook on medium heat.
8. Observe the rice while it’s cooking and add a cup of water at time if needed until the rice is 80% cooked.
9. Add the carrots, green beans and beef into the pot and cover the pot as directed in step 8.
10. Set the stove on low heat for the rice to get done; and the green beans and carrots are also cooked but they remain crunchy.
11. Gently mix the carrots, green beans and beef so they are evenly distributed into the rice.
12. Serve hot and enjoy with a favorite drink.
Burning Burning! The best part of jellof rice.
