Jollof rice

This is the ultimate West African party dish. It is made in huge pans, often with whole chickens. The colour is a festive red and the taste is sweet, savoury, punchy with the zing of the peppers, and yet has a quickening tang that makes the dish a meal in itself.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Heat the oil and butter in a deep heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion, ginger, garlic and red pepper and fry over a medium heat until the onior begins to become brown and sweet.
2. Add the tomatoes, Scotch bonnet, tomato puree/paste, thyme, both the paprikas, the ground cumin, dried shrimp and sugar and season with salt to taste. Simmer this mixture over a medium-low heat for around
   8 minutes. The oils in the mixture should begin to stain red and sit as a veneer on top of the tomato sauce.
3. With a hand blender or a conventional blender, blend the mixture to a smooth paste, then return it to the pan if necessary.
4. Stir in the rice and continue to stir for about
   3 minutes over a medium-low heat. Now slowly pour in the stock and simmer over a low heat for about
   20 minutes. Stir occasionally during the early stages of cooking but never once the rice begins to form a more solid mass. If the rice begins to look very dry, add a little extra water. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, put a tightly fitting lid over the rice and switch off the heat. Leave the pan for
   10 minutes.
5. Remove the lid, sprinkle with the snipped chives and serve either on its own or as sweet, heat-tinged accompaniment to chicken and fish dishes.

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