Ingredients

• 1/2 medium brown onion
• 1 can of plum peeled tomatoes
• 2 medium red bell peppers
• 1+ scotch bonnet peppers
• 3 tbsps tomato puree
• Vegetable oil
• 1 seasoning cube (veggie/vegan options available)
• 3 chicken stock cubes (veggie/vegan options available)
• 2 tbsps curry powder
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 2-3 bay leaves
• Salt
• 2.5 cups of rice (basmati and long grain both work)
• 1 tbsp of butter (non-dairy options available)

Method

• Blend together:
  • 1x can of plum peeled tomatoes
  • 2x medium red bell peppers and/or romano peppers (deseeded)
  • 1x scotch bonnet pepper (more or less/with or without seeds depending on your tolerance for spice)
  • 1/2 medium brown onion
  • Blend to a point where the mixture is still slightly thick
• Heat up just over 1/8 cup of vegetable oil, 3 tbsps of tomato puree and ~1/2 chopped medium brown onion on a hot temperature
• After 1-2 minutes of frying, add in the blend – note that this will start "popping" in the heat
• To season the blend add:
  • 1 seasoning cube
  • 2 tbsps hot curry powder
  • 1 tbsp thyme
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Allow this to simmer on a medium temperature for 10 minutes
• Whilst this is simmering wash 2.5 cups of rice by running under water until the water eventually turns clear. Sit aside until blend has cooked for 10 minutes
• Take blend off the heat - add in the washed rice and mix together. Next, add some stock (chicken flavoured – 3x blocks that have been dissolved in hot water. If you’re cooking meat with your rice, you should season this, boil it, and then use the stock created from boiling this). Add the stock it’s just above the rice
• Cover pot with foil and the lid and steam the rice on a low temperature. Every 15 minutes check the rice and mix it with a fork. After your first or second check the rice will start to burn on the bottom (this is inevitable), after this point do not mix from the bottom, mix/fluff from the top/middle with a fork
• Cover again with foil and steam the rice until you are happy with the softness - this rice is primarily cooked by steaming, not by water which is how we cook typical rice. Patience is key – the rice will come together eventually if you remain patient with the steaming; it may look hard for even up to 20 minutes, which could tempt you to add more water as per cooking more stnadard rice, but you do not need to continue to add excessive amounts of water, the steam will soften the rice (this a rookie error made by many first-time jollof rice cookers, including myself!)
• Once the rice is sufficiently soft, add 1 tbsp of butter and mix into the rice and add salt to taste. Steam for a final 5 minutes

EAT THIS WITH...

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