Jollof rice with stewed chicken

Recipe submitted by Bunmi, a Communications Manager within Communications and Brand at UAL, for Black History Month 🍗

Bunmi's story: "Jollof Rice is an iconic West African dish that has become extremely popular across the UK and beyond. Being of Nigerian descent it's also a beloved dish from my heritage so I would like to take this opportunity to share it with our UAL community. Thank me later!"

Jollof rice recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1kg/6 cups Golden Sella Basmati rice
• 2 red bell peppers
• 400g tin chopped/plum tomatoes
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper
• 1.5 medium onions
• 40g tomato puree
• 8 Maggi seasoning cubes
• 8 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• Salt to taste

METHOD:

1. Blend the tomatoes, 1 onion, Scotch bonnet pepper tomato puree, bell peppers and Maggi cubes with a small amount of water until smooth. 
2. In a pot on medium heat, add the vegetable oil. Slice half an onion and fry until brown, then pour the blended mixture into the hot oil. 
3. Add bay leaved, curry powder and thyme and fry for 15 minutes (don't stir too frequently but don't allow it to burn). 
4. Wash rice in warm water until the water runs clear. Add the washed rice and a cup of water to the pot and mix.
5. Lower the heat, cover and leave to steam for 15 minutes. Then check and stir with a wooden spoon. Top tip: don't stir too frequently to avoid the rice from turning mushy and to allow the blended mixture to fry properly. To help steam, put foil over the pot then cover with the lid.
6. If the rice is still hard, turn with a wooden spoon and replace lid to steam until soft. Repeat if needed.
7. Allow the bottom of the pot to burn a bit to give it a smokier taste. 

Stewed chicken recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• Chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs or legs)
• Same blended mix as used in Jollof rice recipe
• Bell peppers
• Onions
• Spring onions

METHOD:

1. Clean the chicken then part-boil with water, chicken stock cubes, onions, garlic and salt to taste for 15 minutes (the chicken should not be too soft).
2. Fry chicken in vegetable oil or alternatively finish cooking in the oven.
3. In a pot, shallow fry some onion slices for fragrance. Add sliced bell peppers and the blended mixture (same as Jollof rice), use enough to coat the chicken. 
4. After frying for a few minutes, add the chicken pieces and coat in the sauce.
5. Serve and add spring onions to garnish. 

Plantain recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 plantain - serves 3-4 people

METHOD:

1. Slice plantain around 1 inch thick, width-ways and slightly slanted.
2. Shallow fry in vegetable oil on one side for 4 minutes or until golden. Flip and fry until golden.
3. Place on a plate with kitchen roll to soak up excess oil.

All that's left to do is plate all of the components onto the dish and tuck in! 

Contact:

Find more delicious recipes at @ualcatering