So I was craving party style Jollof rice yesterday and but I was not in the mood to cook it over a pot. So I was on Food Network and I saw someone bake pasta in the oven (Baked Pasta with Meatballs should be my next recipe). It looked easy and convenient. So I woke up this morning and go to work.

The star in this dish is the butter I used. Regular Simas cooking butter we all grew up with. I’m surprised the quality has not dropped.

Toppings in Jollof rice is important (to me), people prefer the veggies angle (sweet corn and green peas). I kind of wanted the rice to look like Pizza so I went with Sausages and Green bell peppers. You can try different varieties. Mushrooms should work, pieces of meat and chicken too.

Another important part of this dish is the baking pan. I used a 32cm * 22cm * 3.5cm /12.6inch * 8.7inch * 1.4inch baking pan. A shallow and wide baking pan works better, not a deep and slim one. Rectangle pans are better for aesthetics sake.

Picking the right spices, if you are comfortable with the normal spices you use, stick with it. (please use Rosemary instead of Thyme).

To get the best red color hue for Jollof rice, use more Tatashe and shombo than tomatoes. You won’t need to rely on those “Jollof rice spices” filled with coloring and sodium.

The next time I am making this, I will use Liquid Smoke to give it that firewood flavor and taste regular Party jollof has.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Long Grain parboiled Rice
• 6 large Tomatoes
• 8 large Tatashe (long/short red bell peppers)
• A handful of shombo (Cayenne Peppers)
• 6 Green Chili
• A sachet of Tomato puree
• 4 tablespoon of cooking butter
• Cooking oil
• Half a clove of Garlic
• One Large Onion
• Green beans
• Spring Onions
• Bay leaf
• Rosemary
• 4 Seasoning cubes
• Chicken Masala spice mix
• Sausages
• Green bell peppers

Directions

1. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius, also have a pot of boiling water
2. Chop your onions, garlic, green bell peppers, sausages, green beans and spring onions and set aside.
3. When the water is boiled, take some out and put the washed rice in it, cover it and let it soak for about 15 minutes.
4. Blend your tomatoes and peppers (preferably without any water, you need to have a good blender)
5. In a fry pan, sauté your onions and garlic until it’s half way translucent. Pour in your tomato puree and saute for another 5 minutes (this takes out the tomato puree taste people don’t really like)
6. Pour in you blended tomatoes and peppers, together with your spices (don’t forget salt) and let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes.
7. In a sauce pan, measure two cups of hot water and put 2 cubes of seasoning cubes in it, if it doesn’t melt completely, boil till it’s mixed in the water. Congrats, you just made stock. (for this recipe, I have stock I made and stored in the fridge. I boiled chicken bones with some vegetables to make the stock)
8. Now prepare your baking pan, line the pan with aluminium foil and pour your sauce in it. Then pour in your stock and mix properly. Pour in your butter and make sure it melts completely.
9. Strain the soaked rice, make sure there’s no water in it. Then pour into the baking pan and mix with everything with a wooden spoon.
10. Now you add your topping, I used sausage and green peppers for mine.
11. Cover the pan with foil tightly (squeeze the edges and make sure it is air tight)
12. Put in the oven and bake for 40 minutes. 20 minutes covered, 20 minutes uncovered.
13. Serve and Enjoy

Note:

• If the rice is too “strong”, you can just add water to it and put it back in the oven. (Better than using a pot right?)
• If you want that burnt flavor regular jollof has, you can leave it longer in the oven.
• You have to mix the rice after cooking. The top might be lighter than the bottom, so mix it up and make it even.