We watched the lion King movie remake, a couple of weeks ago. It was ok, not as goodnat thenorigional but thats simply becauseni grew up with it. But since we were watching the Lion King, I felt it was important to make authentic African food for the kids.
To me it felt right to honor the movie and it’s setting with food from the continent and surrounding area, I wanted thebkids to expand their taste buds a bit and try food they weren’t used to.
It was great food, and the kids enjoyed trying something very different. Everything tasted so good, from the rice to the naan to the chicken and vegetables in some sauce.
The rice was so tender with amazing flavor, the tomato pure and spice was perfect paring with this recipe.
Of course we did simple dirt cups for the kids, which obviously isn’t African, but we figured it wouod be a dessert they would enjoy, as it’s just pudding cookie crumbs and bug gummies.
Jollof Rice
Prep Time10minutes min
Cook Time30minutes min
Ingredients
- 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup oil
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon cayenne, more if you like it hotter
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups rice
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Purée the tomatoes, onions, and pepper in a food processor.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add spices and garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the rice, puréed vegetables, tomato paste, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low; cover the pot and cook until rice is al dente, about 20-30 minutes (don’t overcook). If the rice seems a little dry, add ¼ cup water and cover, which will allow it to steam through.
- Garnish the rice with cilantro or parsley before serving.
Notes
- You can substitute the cayenne pepper with African hot ground chili pepper.
- Add ½ small habanero or scotch bonnet pepper for some serious heat.
