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Jollof Rice

May 15, 2017 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice – West Africa’s answer to Jambalaya

If you ask the ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ question to Jambalaya the answer has to be Jollof Rice. Hailing from west Africa “Jollof” means ‘one pot’ in the Wolof language and it also goes by Benachin (which is also the name of a restaurant in New Orleans) and ‘Party Rice.’

Like Jambalaya it has many national and personal variations but they all start with tomatoes and spices that have been cooked down to a paste. Italians call this sofrito – what they call it in Nigeria I do not know – possibly something like ‘amazingly flavored cooked down goodness.’ Whatever you call it, it’s delicious.

And if your ancestors hail from west Africa try it! It’s a wonderful way to hook up with your heritage and treat your family and friends to a savory side dish.

Prepping the Rice

You start by parboiling long-grain white rice (it can be basmati or regular) for about 10 minutes. You then take it off the heat and rinse under cold water and set aside. This confused me initially since I’ve always cooked rice in flavored broth. However, pay attention to the African experts because they figured out long ago that the tomatoes and flavorings take more time to cook down to the correct thick consistency than the rice. Add the rice at the start and the end will be sad & soggy.

The flavorings always include turmeric, ginger, nutmeg, and hot chili peppers like Scotch bonnet and frequently Selim peppers which can be difficult to source in the U.S. The peppers below were bought at Savory Spice shop and are called cubeb peppers.

Cubeb Berries

Cubeb’s curious history

Originating in Java, cubeb peppers, piper cubeba, were traded to Africa by Arab merchants, caught on quickly, and provide an aromatic note as well as heat. To me they smell something like the bergamot oil used to flavor Earl Grey tea. They’ve been used in all kinds of interesting ways in Europe and north Africa. Moroccans use them in their famous spice mixture, Ras el hanout, and they were used in medieval Poland as a marinade for meats. Their most surprising appearance came in The Music Man where Harold Hill corrupts the youth of River City by passing out Cubeb cigarettes. Who knew!

Back to the stove!

But back to the stove. After you’ve gotten the tomatoes and other fixins pureed in a blender you will add some oil to a skillet and pour them in. Cook to the approximate thickness you see below, but remember, it’s an eyeball thing so play it by ear.

Jollof RiceNext add the rice and thoroughly coat it with the tomato mixture as pictured below.

Jollof RiceOnce this is done you may start adding the broth. Add it in half cup increments and keep tasting until the rice is done to your satisfaction.

What accompanies Jollof Rice?

I served mine with some chicken that was flavored with some of the curry spice mix I used in the rice. Africans will often serve it as a side dish in a large meal or accompanied by smoked fish, shrimp, or goat. It’s up to you. And for those who follow restrictive diets, it’s gluten-free and vegetarian.  So however you serve it, let the party start!

Jollof Rice
 
Print
Author: Carine Clary
Cuisine: African
Ingredients
  • 2 cups long-grain rice
  • 1 14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 red bell pepper (or 1 jar of cooked peeled & drained peppers)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 medium-sized clove garlic, chopped
  • 1 scotch bonnet, chopped & seeds removed (or 1 tsp. red pepper flakes)
  • ½ tsp. ground thyme
  • 1 tsp. curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tablespoon cubeb berries ground and sifted (or several whole Selim peppers)
  • 4 tablespoons red palm oil (dende oil) or olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 to 1½ cups chicken broth (or water if vegetarian)
  • salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Put unwashed rice into a pot with water to cover & set to boil. Let it cook about halfway, Remove and wash in cold water to stop the cooking. It should have a little resistance but should not be more than half done. This usually takes about 10 minutes but check. Set aside.
  2. Cut up the bell pepper in quarters, toss in a little olive oil and run under the broiler until the skin is blistered. Remove, put in a covered dish to steam, then peel off the skin & set aside. You can cheat by using the prepared red peppers in the jar. Just be sure & drain the liquid out.
  3. Put tomatoes, bell pepper, chopped onion, chili, and flavorings in a food processor or blender and puree.
  4. Put oil in a deep skillet and pour in the puree. Cook over low heat until it thickens significantly. Once that is achieved add the tomato paste.
  5. Next, add the rice and stir till coated.
  6. Now start adding the broth. The objective is to add gradually and keep checking the rice until it is done.
  7. Serve with chicken, shrimp, or goat. (Yes goat! And if you haven't tried it it tastes a bit like beef & is delicious).
3.4.3177

 

Filed Under: African, Casseroles, Rice & Noodle Dishes Tagged With: jollof rice, party rice, red rice, west african rice

Accara

July 30, 2016 by Carine Clary 2 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAMeet Accara. Like fritters? Like black-eyed peas? Like shrimp? Follow me…because if you like all those things and like them fried you will love this Brazilian/African appetizer!

What’s Accara?

Nothing is more southern than black-eyed peas and fritters. But black eyed pea fritters? What’s that? Well, it’s ‘Accara’ and it’s largely unknown outside west Africa where it originated. African immigrants to Brazil call it “Acaraje” and stuff it with shrimp. For hundreds of years ladies in white dresses and turbans have sold them on the beach in the state of Bahia. These Bahianas originated the woman-owned micro capitalist business model in Brazil that supported their families and provided some of the tastiest street food on earth.

Prepping the Peas

Question is, why isn’t Accara better known? And the answer is – at the front end there’s some seriously tedious prep involved. To make Accara dried black-eyed peas need to be soaked and rubbed between the hands to remove the skins (and the little black eyes) and it takes time.  If you skip this step and just squash up the peas with the skins you will end up needing to have those same tough little skins power washed out of your dental work so don’t try it.

How to make this task bearable? You space it out. Way out. If I’m having these as appetizers for a party on Saturday night I put the peas in a large pot Friday late afternoon and cover them with hot water. They can be left covered or put in the fridge overnight. Next day put the pot in the sink, fill both hands with peas and start rubbing hard. As the skins come off they will float to the top and you can pour them off. Refill the pot with water and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat.

I stagger it between other things that are less boring, like cleaning the toilet bowl or reading the EU regulations relating to the allowable shapes of bananas and zucchini (yes, they exit). Eventually all the peas will be skinless and eyeless and you can proceed to the easy part. And note. There will be stubborn outliers who hang on to their skins in an obvious attempt to drive you nuts and make you question why you thought this whole Accara project was doable. They cannot be defeated so just pick them out and toss. At this point your peas will look like this:

Accara

Processing & Frying

The rest is smooth sailing and involves putting the black-eyed peas and other ingredients into the food processor or blender and blending to the consistency of bean dip or oatmeal. If it’s extremely stiff add a teaspoon of water. But be careful, if it’s too watery it will fall apart in the fryer.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd as I note in the recipe below it may be fried in your choice of vegetable oil, lard, coconut oil or dende oil which is also called red palm oil. Red Palm Oil is widely used in Africa and prized for its nutritional value. It has a gorgeous deep orange color and a distinct flavor that is authentically West African. Definitely worth trying at least once.

After frying the fritters should be placed on a rack to drain. However, since they are fried for such a short time they don’t absorb much oil so you can skip the paper towels unless you’re extremely fat phobic. If you are cooking them ahead of time just place them in a very slow oven (about 150 degrees) to warm up.

Leftovers

The other good news about this recipe that somewhat compensates for your excessive pea shucking efforts is Accra’s freezeability. That is to say that they taste almost the same warmed up in the toaster oven as they do coming out of the pan. A couple of hot ones with some eggs & ham make for a great breakfast. So get out the pot and start soaking those peas. You’ll be in for a treat!

And another from Africa

And you might like this other west African dish. Won’t know till you try it.

Jollof Rice


5.0 from 1 reviews
Accara
 
Print
Author: Carine Clary
Cuisine: African
Ingredients
  • For the fritters:
  • 2 cups black-eyed peas
  • ½ cup chopped onion
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • ½ tsp. cayenne
  • oil for frying (can be lard, coconut, dende (red palm oil), or vegetable)
  • For the filling:
  • 1 lb. small shrimp
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons garlic
  • parsley or cilantro to taste
Instructions
  1. For the peas:
  2. Soak dried peas in water overnight with enough water to cover. Drain & pour in hot water to cover. Let soak for 30 minutes then rub the peas in your hands until the skin falls away. These will float to the top and can be carefully poured off.
  3. Drain the peas and put in a food processor with all other ingredients and process until relatively smooth. It should have the consistency of bean dip. If it's too thick add a little water.
  4. Pour the oil into a straight-sided pan to about the depth of 2 inches and heat to 360. If you don't have a thermometer drop a small spoonful of the mixture into the fat. If it's hot enough the outside will brown almost immediately.
  5. Drop the mixture by spoonfuls into the hot oil careful not to crowd.
  6. Fry about a minute on each side or until golden brown, then remove and drain.
  7. For the filling:
  8. Saute the garlic in oil or butter for a couple of minutes until soft then add the shrimp and cook for several more minutes.
  9. Add chopped parsley or cilantro, give it a stir, and stuff the fritters or add on the side.
  10. Can be served with pickled vegetables.
3.4.3177

 

 

Filed Under: African, Appetizers, Vegetables Tagged With: Acaraje, Accara, Akara, blackeyed pea fritters

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Hello, I'm Carine Clary and I'm the FrangloSaxon.

And is that a word? In a word - Yes! It reflects my French connections in the south part of the state and the Anglo Saxon ones on the Arkansas state line. I grew up eating & loving all the foods of Louisiana and the idea is to collect lots of them right here on this website.

What you'll find here is food that reflects everybody's cooking. Creole we know. Cajun we know. But how about Croatian or Vietnamese....or Italian or German....or the underestimated plain Southern food they do so well in the upstate parishes?

They're all part of who we are so pull up your chair and join me for some good eats!

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