Jollof Rice is a popular dish in West African cuisine but each region prepares it differently. Ghanian Jollof Rice can be made with or without meat. It is nutritious, flavorful and easy to prepare.

Directions for Preparing Jollof Rice

1. Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and add the diced onion.
2. Sauté until tender and golden brown.
3. Stir in the tomato puree and let cook for four (0:04) minutes.
4. Blend together the ginger, garlic, chilies, onion quarters, and canned tomatoes.
5. Add the blended mixture to the pot and cook till the tomatoes are tender and the oil appears on the surface.
6. Add the stock cube together with the bouillon cube.
7. Sprinkle two or more pinches of the dried herbs.
8. Stir everything together so that is well seasoned and let it simmer for three (0:03) minutes.
9. Rinse the raw rice in cold water to remove some of the starch.
10. Add the rinsed rice to the pot and stir thoroughly so that the rice is coated in the flavored mixture.
11. Add two cups of water to the pot.
12. Stir and add salt to taste.
13. Let the rice cook until most of the water has been absorbed.
14. Cover the pot, reduce the heat and allow it to simmer until the rice is tender, then turn off the heat
15. Serve Jollof Rice with fried plantain slices and a crisp green salad.

Other Ghana Dishes

• Waakye– rice and beans colored coconut flavored rice with an indigenous leaf to make it purple-brown. This side dish bears striking similarities to West Indian rice and peas. The rice is cooked and steamed with an indigenous leaf, coconut, and a pulse such as black-eyed or kidney beans
• 3mo Tuo/Rice ball – sticky mashed rice is normally eaten with Ghanaian soup.
• Plain rice – boiled rice accompanies many of the variety of red stews
• Fried rice – Chinese-style fried rice adapted to Ghanaian tastes.
• Angwa moo— Call it “oiled rice”, and every Ghanaian will commend your effort to find an English name for it. This is unlike fried rice which you cook the rice before frying. Oiled rice is cooked by first onion-frying the oil, then adding water after the onions have browned. This will give the rice a different fragrance. The rice is then cooked in the water-oil mixture, to give the rice an oily feel when ready. It may be cooked with vegetables or minced meat, to add to your taste. It is mostly served with earthenware-grinded pepper, with either tinned sardines or fried eggs complementing it.
• Ngwo moo (Palm rice) — It’s an alternative to boiled rice. Only this is cooked with palm oil, instead of cooking oil. The taste is determined by the type of palm oil used.