Jollof rice

Jollof(/dʒəˈlɒf/), orjollofrice, is arice dishfromWest Africa. The dish is typically made withlong-grain rice, tomatoes,chilis, onions, spices, and sometimes other vegetables and/or meat in a single pot, although its ingredients and preparation methods vary across different regions. The dish's origins are traced toSenegal.
Regional variations are a source of competition among the countries of West Africa, and in particular betweenNigeriaandGhana, over whose version is the best; in the 2010s this developed into a friendly rivalry known as the "Jollof Wars".
In French-speaking West Africa, a variation of the dish is known asriz au gras. The Senegalese version, thieboudienne, has been recognized by UNESCO as anintangible cultural heritagedish.
TheJolofor Wolof Empire was a confederacy state that ruled parts ofWest Africasituated in modern-daySenegal,Mali,The GambiaandMauritaniafrom around the 12th centuryand was later known as theJolof Kingdom. According to African food historian Fran Osseo-Asare, the origins of jollof rice can be traced to the area, where rice was grown;the original dish was known asthieboudienneor thiebou djeun,and contains rice, fish,shellfishand vegetables.If made with meat, it is called ceebu yapp.The fishing communities ofSaint-Louisare considered the birthplace of thieboudienne.
Food and agriculture historian James C. McCann argued that it was unlikely that the dish could have naturally spread from Senegal to its current range since a similar cultural diffusion is not seen in "linguistic, historical or political patterns". Instead, he proposed that the dish spread with theMali empire, especially theDjula tradespeoplewho dispersed widely to the regional commercial and urban centers, taking with them economic arts of "blacksmithing, small-scale marketing, and rice agronomy" as well as the religion ofIslam.
Marc Dufumier, anemeritus professorofagronomy, proposes a more recent origin for the dish, which may only have appeared as a consequence of the colonial promotion of intensivepeanutcropping in central Senegal for the French oil industry, and where commensurate reduction in the planted area of traditionalmilletandsorghumstaples was compensated for by imports of broken rice fromSoutheast Asia. This gave local cooks no choice but to use the then-unfamiliar product.
The use ofNew Worldtomatoes, tomato paste,capsicumpeppers (bell,chili,paprika), Indiancurry powder, Mediterraneanthyme, and Asian rice varieties, may limit the origin of the current dish to no earlier than the 19th century, there being no evidence of the ingredients being locally cultivated or imported before this period.In Senegal, oral histories credit Penda Mbaye, a cook at the residence of one of the colonial rulers inSaint-Louis, Senegal, as having created the dish when she ran out ofbarleyand substituted rice.
Jollof rice is one of the most common dishes inWest Africa. There are several regional variations in name and ingredients;for example, in Mali it is calledzaamèinBamanankan. The dish's most common name ofJollofderives from the name of theWolof people,though in Senegal, Mauritania and The Gambia the dish is referred to in Wolof asceebu jënorbenachin. In French-speaking areas, it is calledriz au gras. Despite the variations, the dish is "mutually intelligible" across the regions and has become the best known African dish outside the continent.It is found throughout the world wherever communities of West African immigrants have developed.
Jollof rice traditionally consists of rice, cooking oil, tomato puree, onion, salt, chilies, and often some combination of other ingredients such astomato paste,bell pepper, garlic, ginger,thyme,curry powder, bay leaves,grains of selim, andbouillon cubesorstock; recipes vary from country to country and cook to cook. Chicken, turkey, beef, lamb or fish are often cooked with or served with the dish.In some countries, other vegetables such as cabbage, green peas, or carrots are included.
Some recipes call for long grain rice, some for short grain, some for broken rice, others forparboiled rice.Typically the tomato puree, tomato paste, onions, salt and chillies are sauteed in oil and simmered into a sauce in which the rice is then cooked.
West African countries typically have at least one variant form of the dish, withGhana,Nigeria,Sierra Leone,LiberiaandCameroonparticularly competitive as to which country makes the best jollof.In the mid-2010s this expanded into the "Jollof Wars".
Thegastronationalismrivalry is especially prominent between Nigeria and Ghana, and has led to various events, including cooking competitions and social media campaigns, fostering cultural pride.In 2016,Sister Deborahreleased the song "Ghana Jollof", which denigrated the Nigerian version and Nigerians for being proud of their version.Soon after, a physical fight over insufficient jollof supplies at a Ghanaian political rally sparked delighted mocking of Ghanaians by Nigerians.
Of particular sensitivity in jollof-making communities is the inclusion of non-traditional ingredients, which are defined country to country and are seen as making the jollof inauthentic.In 2014, a recipe released byJamie Oliverthat included cherry tomatoes, coriander, lemon, and parsley, none of which are used in any traditional recipe, caused outraged reactions, including thehashtag#jollofgate trending onsocial media, to the point Oliver's team had to issue a statement.
TheCameroonianversion, sometimes called fried rice, often includes red peppers, carrots, green beans and smoked paprika.
Smoked snails are a traditional ingredient in thecuisine of the Republic of The Gambia.
Ghanaian jollof rice is made of vegetable oil,onion, ginger, pressedgarliccloves,chillies, tomato paste,beeforgoat meatorchicken(sometimes alternated with mixed vegetables), local or refined rice, typically jasmine rice andblack pepper.Ghanaian jollof typically does not include any green leafy vegetables.
The method of cooking Ghanaian jollof begins with first preparing the beef or chicken by seasoning and steaming it with a pureé of ginger, onions and garlic and frying it until it is well-cooked.The rest of the ingredients are then fried all together, starting from onions, pepper, tomato paste, tomatoes and spices in that order. After all the ingredients have been fried, rice is then added and cooked until the meal is prepared. Ghanaian jollof is typically served with plantains and side dishes of beef, chicken, well-seasoned fried fish, or mixed vegetables.
Jollof in Ghana is also served alongsideshito, a popular type of pepper which originates from Ghana, and salad during parties and other ceremonies.
Liberianjollof seldom includes seafood.
Although considerable variation exists, the basic profile for Nigerian jollof rice includes long-grainrice(including golden sella basmati rice), tomatoes puree and/ortomato paste, onions, pepper (scotch bonnetsand/orhabanero peppers;poblanosand/orbell peppers),vegetable oil, meatbroth/stock and a various mixture of additional ingredients, including thyme, bay leaves, curry powder,white pepper, (small amounts of)nutmegandstock cubes.Converted rice, which may respectively exist in the form of standard long-grain parboiled rice (often labelled as easy-cook rice in theU.K.) or Golden Sella basmati rice (similarly-parboiledand which has come to be especially commonly-used in theU.K., gradually increasing in popularity since 2006) is most-appropriate for Nigerian one-pot rice-cooking, as it resists becoming mushy.
The important quality of rice used to cook Nigerian one-pot rice recipes, including jollof rice, is that it isparboiled. The decision whether to use any of the numerous brands of conventional long-grain parboiled/easy-cook rice (e.g., Tolly Boy, Mama Gold, Dangote Rice, Veetee, Village Pride, Tropical Sun, Mama Pride, Mama Africa, Cap Rice, Uncle Ben’s, Royal Stallion, Carolina Gold) or Golden Sella basmati-parboiled rice (further sub-branded, e.g., Asli, Tilda)is merely a matter of availability, convenience and/or personal preference and the sub-status of one or the other grain-group being conventional long-grain or basmati long-grain completely irrelevant. What matters is that it isparboiled(i.e., partially boiled at the husk when processing). Sella basmati rice, however, is considered more aesthetically pleasing to some.
Most of the ingredients are cooked in one pot, of which a rich meat stock or broth and a fried tomato and pepper puree characteristically forms the base. Rice is then added and left to cook in the liquid.
The dish is then served with the protein of choice (which in theory may be any meat but often beef, turkey, chicken or croaker-fish; much less commonly lamb, pork, etc.) and very often with friedplantains,moi-moi(bean pudding), steamed vegetables,coleslaw, salad, etc.
Several variations of prototypal Nigerian jollof rice exist, including coconut-jollof rice.Coconut-jollof rice is particularly often eaten by riverine and someIgboNigerians.
UNESCO recognized Senegal's version of jollof, thieboudienne, as anintangible cultural heritagedish.Thieboudienne typically usesbroken rice.Smoked snails are a traditional ingredient.
The dish is known in Sierra Leone, where it may not call for red palm oil but instead tomato paste.
In French-speaking West Africa, includingBeninese,Burkinabé,Guinean,Guinea-Bissauan,Ivorian,Nigerien, andTogolese cuisines, there is a variant calledriz grasor riz au gras, which translates to "fat rice", a reference to the short-grain rice usually used in the dish.Riz gras typically includes additional vegetables such as eggplant, carrots, and/or cabbage.
Jollof is culturally important in much of West Africa to the point there is a common saying, "A party without Jollof is just a meeting".In Nigeria the term, "See Jollof" means "see how much fun is being had" according to Nigerian food historianOzoz Sokoh.
Since the 2010s, there has been increasing interest in West African foods in the western world. Jollof food festivals have been held inWashington, DC, andToronto. "World Jollof Day" has been celebrated since 2015 on 22 August, gaining traction onsocial mediaand has helped increased the global recognition of Jollof rice.On 3 November 2022, the dish was honoured with aGoogle Doodle.
Some areas also have versions of two related dishes: