Brown Rice Jollof (Vegan Friendly)

This recipe is a “healthier” alternative to a regular Jollof Rice recipe. “Healthy” here is used loosely because the only difference is brown rice, which just adds a lot more fibre. Don’t get it twisted, white rice is forever the superior rice. With that disclaimer out of the way, lets get to the recipe.

What is Jollof Rice

If you are new around here, I have a lot of resources to learn more about jollof rice. In summary, Jollof Rice is a signature West African dish. Jollof Rice is essentially rice cooked in a flavourful tomato sauce. Each West African country has its own variation and claims they have the best Jollof. If you want to learn more about the history of Jollof Rice, check out this post. For more details on the difference of jollof rice across West Africa, click this post. Lastly, if you want to try my comprehensive Jollof Rice recipe, please click here.

Why Brown Rice Jollof

Honestly, I wanted to provide more variety of Jollof Rice for people to try. Although brown rice jollof is not the first jollof I will reach out for. i think it is perfect for meal prep. I have been having Jollof Rice consistently all week for the past two weeks. if you are not a fan of brown rice like me, this is a perfect way to incorporate brown rice into your diet. The brown rice can pick up a lot of the flavour from the stew and makes it actually delicious.

What you will need for this recipe

• Oil: the oil is used to caramelize the onions and fry the tomato sauce. Oil is incredibly important because the amount can change the flavour of the rice, less oil means milder Jollof. More oil means a Jollof that is sweeter. The oil fries the stew and cooks it really well, releasing a lot of sugars in the onions and tomatoes.
• Aromatics: Onion, Ginger, Garlic and Scotch bonnet pepper are the most important base for any Ghanaian stew. Having the right balance of each gives the Jollof a really nice, rich flavour. Red bell pepper is not typical for Ghanaian Jollof but it adds a nice red colour and sweet flavour, especially when one uses tomatoes during winter.
• Tomato Paste: This is essential for the stew. I mean it is a tomato-based recipe so of course. Plus, the tomato paste is sweet and red. it will give a nice tomato flavour to support the fresh tomatoes. It will also give the Jollof a nice red colour.
• Brown Rice: This recipe has been made specifically for brown rice. MOST IMPORTANTLY, it has been made for easy cooking SHORT GRAIN brown rice. Brown rice cooked on the stove is temperamental. The balance of water and sauce is very important. Please do not use any other type of rice. I used short-grain rice because I think it is great-tasting brown rice for people who are not the biggest fan of brown rice like me. Please find above a picture of the brown rice I used.
• Veggie Stock: this gives the rice additional flavour. The non-vegan version usually uses chicken stock to cook the rice, so we try to emulate that process here. I include a powder version but you can swap the powder version out and instead of using water use a veggie broth.

How To Make Brown Rice Jollof

• Make the stew: Caramelize the onions in oil. Fry the tomato sauce in the oil to cook out the canned flavour. Blend the rest of the ingredients except the rice till smooth. Pour into the pot and cook at medium heat
• Add the well rinsed brown rice into the pot. Let it come to a boil and lower it to low heat. PLEASE DO NOT OPEN THE POT,OR ADD MORE WATER. if you add more water the Jollof will become mushy.
• Let it cook at low for 50 minutes. YES, 50 MINUTES. This is brown rice and it takes a while to cook
• The rice will seem sticky at the beginning but as it cools down, the grains will separate.

What can I serve this with?

• Jollof is actually the main dish and comes with some sides. Here are a few options to serve this dish with
  • Mishkaki Tofu Skewers
  • Senegalese Inspired Tofu Yassa
  • Spicy Suya Beefless Balls
  • Vegan Shito: hot sauce we serve with every rice dish in Ghana.
  • Any Protein and veggies

How can I store this recipe?

• This recipe keeps well in the fridge for up to 10 days
• You can freeze the leftover for up to 6 months

Frequently Asked Jollof Questions

• What is the best pot to use?
  • I use a deep non-stick pot because it allows the rice to cook evenly.
• Can I switch the spices?
  • You are welcome to switch up the spices, just make sure to add enough. I am always heavy-handed with my spices because adding the rice and liquid can dilute the sauce. Adding a lot of spices means you will not lose the flavour.
• Can I make this recipe oil-free?
  • You are more than welcome to sub the oil for water. But, oil does bring out the sweetness of the onions when sautéed.
• What is the perfect consistency of the final product?
  • Well cooked pot of rice. You should see each grain separately. It is not mushy and evenly cooked.
• How can I avoid mushy Jollof?
  • To avoid mushy Jollof, please do not add more water than specified
  • Please be patient with the recipe. The more time you allow the rice to cook at LOW heat, the higher chance it will cook properly
  • Jasmine rice is quite starchy; if you do not wash it well, it will clump up and the grains will not separate well
• Can I cook this in the instant pot?
  • This recipe has not been tested for the instant pot and I will not recommend it. Jollof requires a lot of attention, which you cannot do using the instant pot. Plus the stew will not combine well with the rice and rather separate to the top of the pot
• Can I use white rice?
  • Please check out my first Jollof blog post (click here)
• Can I use another type of brown rice?
  • Please refrain from using another type of rice. This recipe has been tested specifically for short grain brown rice.
• My rice is taking a long time to cook, will it burn?
  • Unlike simple plain rice, jollof rice takes time and patience.
• Can I half the recipe?
  • Unfortunately, I do not suggest this as the ratios do not work well at half the amount. If you think this is too much, you are more than welcome to freeze it
• I do not have access to scotch bonnet pepper, what can I use instead?
  1. you can swap for habanero pepper or jalapeno
  2. you can also use cayenne pepper and adjust accordingly to your heat tolerance

Print Recipe

Brown Rice Jollof

By Afia – Serves: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes – Cooking Time: 2 hours – Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 small onions (1 finely chopped,1 cut into quarters)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 large thumb size of ginger
• 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper **
• 3 medium-sized fresh tomatoes
• 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp of curry powder
• 2 tsp each of garlic and onion powder
• 1.5 tbsp veggie bouillon powder **
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tsp fresh thyme (you can use 1 tsp of dried thyme instead)
• 3 1/4 cups of short grain brown rice. Please refer to the photo above for the brand I used
• 2 cups of water total/ Can sub for mushroom broth if you want
• 1 tsp anise seeds
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1

Please make sure to read the frequently asked questions before preceding and watch the video for reference

2

In a pot, at medium heat, saute the chopped onions till brown

3

While the onions are browning, blend the whole onions, garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet pepper, red bell pepper and tomatoes in 1/4 cup of water

4

Add in the tomato paste and cook for a few minutes

5

If the pot is getting dry, add a splash of water

6

Once the tomato paste has fried for a few minutes, add in the blended tomato mixture and the spices. Mix everything well

7

You will then add 1 cup of water to the sauce, cover the pot, and let it cook at medium heat for 20 minutes.

8

As the stew is about to get to the 20-minute mark, rinse the rice very very well. It has a lot of starch, which can make it very sticky. Rinsing out the starch is important.

9

At the 20 minute mark, mix the rice into the stew. Taste for salt and adjust accordingly. Add 3/4 cup of water then cover the pot well.

10

Let the rice come to a boil for about 5 minutes, then cover with parchment paper.

11

Turn the heat to low and let the rice cook for 50 minutes. Yes, I know it is a long time but we are using brown rice and we are trying to concentrate the Jollof flavour

12

Halfway through, mix the rice so that the bottom does not burn. Taste to make sure it is cooking, then cover again for it to finish cooking.

13

After 50 minutes, check on the rice to see if it is cooked. If not, give it a few minutes.

14

Once the rice is done, let it cool down a bit before serving. The rice might feel a bit sticky, just because of the nature of this rice, but when it cools down it will be perfect

Notes

** you can use habanero, jalapeno or any spicy chilli pepper ** if you do not have veggie bouillon powder, you can switch for liquid veggie broth but substituting the water in this recipe for veggie broth