Jollof Rice

Last summer I went to Girls' Camp and some of the girls taught me to make their version of Jollof Rice.  We didn't have all the ingredients they wanted, but we did what we could.  I played the sous chef and did a lot of chopping (we didn't have a blender and I was instructed the onion is supposed to be minced super fine.)  And  the girls made two huge pots of rice.  Here's the closest thing I got to a photo of tutorial of the Jollof Rice making.

They told me Jollof Rice is a staple in their homes (the girls are British with West African backgrounds) and every house has a different recipe.  But they told me they'd show me the ropes for making the basic rice.  Mostly it's rice with tomato, pepper and lots of spices (the spicier the better.)  Then you can add whatever else suits your fancy-chicken, vegetables, etc.

Ingredients

1 can tomatoes (I used plum)
1 onion

1-2 Tablespoons oil (I used olive oil, but coconut oil would be better)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
Red chile pepper (we didn't have any, so I used crushed chile seeds)
1 teaspoon cumin (which I didn't use)
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bullion cube
water
rice

Heat the oil in the pan, until it become quite hot.  (About five minutes.)

Puree the onion and tomatoes in a blender or food processor.

When the oil is heated, slowly pour the tomatoes into the pan.  Be careful, the oil will splatter a bit.

Stir the tomatoes in with the oil and allow to cook for about five minutes.  Add the spices, tomato paste and bullion to the tomato sauce.

Stir until the bullion dissolves.  Allow the mixture to simmer.  While the mixture is simmering, measure out the rice (I used about 1 1/2 cups rice), rinse and drain it several times.   (I used a strainer.)  Rinsing the rice makes it less starchy.

Once the rice is rinsed, add it to the pot.  The tomato sauce should be about 1/2 inch above the rice.  If it isn't, then add some water until it is.  Without stirring the rice, bring the mixture to a boil.

Do not stir the rice, but reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a clear lid.  Continue simmering the rice without stirring until the liquid had reduced and the rice is done.  (About 10-15 minutes.)  Check the rice has cooked completely and stir well.

The rice is ready to serve.  Niall had it on its own, I had it with chicken.

And so you know, Girls' Camp had this amazing clock tower with a bunch of Smurfs trapped inside.

And I learned that being pregnant means I can't do the splits all the way.  It was a sad day.