Coconut Jollof rice

Coconut jollof rice is cooked same way as Jollof rice but with addition of coconut milk.

I often wonder why coconut jollof rice? This is because jollof rice make use of different spices and peppers all which are strong enough and can easily overpower coconut flavour but then why not? coconut jollof rice has the advantage of making moist jollof rice (If you are the type that gets bored of the party jollof rice) and at worst you at least get a hint of coconut taste at the back of your throat with coconut jollof rice (if you are a fan of coconut).

Well, for my recipe what I have adapted for getting more of the coconut taste out of coconut jollof rice is by using desiccated coconut and also embracing the usual burning that comes with jollof rice. Most recipe calls for just coconut milk, my recipe calls for both coconut milk and desiccated coconut and believe me, addition of desiccated coconut makes a lot of difference in enhancing the coconut taste. So here is my coconut jollof rice recipe :

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS ( Serves 6)

5 cups of rice

3 scotch bonnet/habanero (ata rodo)

2 bell peppers or sweet pointed pepper (tatashe)

400g tin plum tomatoes

1 brown onion

1 red onion

2 fresh tomatoes

40-50g tomato puree

½ cup of vegetable or sunflower oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon Curry powder

½ tablespoon Dried thyme

1 teaspoon White pepper

2 tablespoons dessicated coconut

4 maggi cubes (or any stock cube of choice)

Chicken or beef stock

Salt

Coconut milk

DIRECTIONS

1) Blend the scotch bonnet, bell pepper, plum tomatoes and red onion. This should give you a rich red colour

2) Boil the blended pepper to reduce the water content.

3) Slice the brown onion and the fresh tomatoes and set aside.

4) Wash the rice thoroughly and also set this aside. No need to parboil.

5) Heat the vegetable oil in a pot for few minutes and add the boiled blended peppers. Let this fry finely then add the stock cubes, curry powder, dried thyme, white pepper and butter. Also add half of the sliced brown onions, half of the sliced fresh tomatoes and the tomato purée.

Notice how I didn't overload this recipe with spices? If you overload with spices it totally overpowers the coconut flavour.

7) After adding the tomato puree the mixture will change colour to a darker and richer colour and the sauce becomes thicker. Leave to fry for another 5minutes and then add the coconut milk.

Coconut milk is whitish and will slightly lighten the colour of the pepper.

Add chicken or beef stock and then the dessicated coconut

8) Add water and leave to boil. It is important you do not add too much water as doing this will make jollof rice soggy.

9) When this boils, add the already washed rice. The water level  should be a little bit above the rice. Cover with foil before covering with the pot lid and cooking on low heat.

The foil help locks in the steam and low heat ensures the rice doesn't burn fast.

10) After about 15 minutes open the pot of rice. At this stage, the rice should be almost cooked and you will see some of the stew nicely settled on the rice. Use a spoon to turn this with the rice while taking care not to get to the very bottom of the pot with the spoon.

11) When you've done this, it's now time to add the remaining sliced onions and tomatoes. If you'd prefer you can add sliced mixed peppers or vegetables at this stage.

Cover the pot and leave for another 5minutes.

12) Open the pot and turn the rice with spoon. The rice would have burnt  a little. That's perfectly ok .

As it burns you'll start getting that smell of coconut in the rice. So letting it burn is a good idea.

Set the pot down and leave the lid partially open to cool a bit. There you have it! Coconut jollof rice.

You can serve with sides such as plantain or salad. I served with Chicken teriyaki (recipe HERE) and coleslaw.

Coconut jollof rice, chicken teriyaki and coleslaw.

Bon appetit

Don't forget to like K's Cuisine fan page on facebook at www.facebook.com/kscuisine

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind" - Bernard M Baruch