Go Back
vegetarian jollof rice
Print Recipe

The Tastiest Vegan Jollof Rice

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Ghanaian
Keyword: ghanaian recipes, jollof rice
Servings: 8 people

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions 1 finely sliced to sauté, 1 roughly chopped for blending
  • 1 thumb sized ginger
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 scotch bonnet pepper more if you like spicy food
  • 1/2 red bell pepper
  • 2 medium sized tomatoes
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup tomato paste
  • 1 2/3 cup tomato puree I used the Kirkland Organic Tomato Sauce from Costco
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tbsp anise seeds ground
  • 1 tsp each of whole cloves onion powder, garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 veggie bouillon cube I used the knorr vegetable broth powder**
  • 4 cups dry Jasmine Rice
  • salt to taste
  • water specific water measurements are outlined in the steps

Instructions

  • Before you start this recipe please make sure you have thoroughly reviewed the Questions and Answer section, especially if it is your first time making this recipe.
  • PLEASE ALSO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS VERY CAREFULLY; THIS IS A VERY TECHNICAL DISH
  • Blend together the tomatoes, red bell pepper, ginger, garlic, roughly chopped onions and the scotch bonnet in 1/2 cup of water
  • In a pot at medium heat, sauté the finely sliced onions with oil till brown. Add in a splash of water if the pot is getting dry
  • After, add in the tomato paste, 1/4 cup of water and sauté for 5 minutes.
  • After 5 minutes, add in your blended mixture and the tomato purée, plus 1/3 cup of water. Cover the pot very well and allow the sauce to simmer and reduce for 20 minutes at medium heat.
  • After 20 minutes, turn down the heat to low, and mix in the spices. We will be keeping the temperature at LOW (YOUR LOWEST HEAT SETTING) for the rest of the cooking process.
  • Once the spices have been mixed in well, add the rice (please remember to wash the rice very well) and 1 2/3 cups of water.DO NOT ADD ANY MORE WATER BEYOND THIS POINT
  • Make sure to taste the sauce for salt. You want it to be slightly salty because when the rice cooks it will dilute out the salt.
  • Cover the pot well, turn the heat to LOW and keep an eye on the rice.
  • After 10 minutes, fold over the rice (get the rice from the bottom to the top) to make sure it is not too burnt at the bottom, and place a parchment paper or tin foil on top of the pot before covering the pot. This traps steam in the pot and cooks the rice
  • Let the rice cook for 25 mins at LOW. The point is to steam the rice. You will be tempted to open and check, please do not check. Leave it alone so that it cooks well
  • After 25 mins, discard any water that has collected at the top of the parchment paper or tin foil and give the rice a quick turn. Cover let it cook at LOW for another 25 minutes.
  • Once the 25 minutes has passed, check the rice again to check how well cooked it is, again discard any water that has pooled on top of the parchment paper or tin foil. Cover it and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes or till the rice is cooked
  • The rice should be cooked in about an hour (calculated from the time you added the rice to the stew).

Notes

** If you do not have access to the veggie broth powder, you are more than welcome to use liquid veggie broth instead of water to give the same flavour. Low sodium is best because you can control the amount of salt in the rice