Oven Baked Jollof Rice
Overview
Oven-baked jollof takes the standard West African one-pot and moves it into the oven, where the heat surrounds the dish rather than coming from below. The reason to bother is practical. Stovetop jollof burns from the base, and getting it right means managing heat carefully, too high and the bottom catches badly, too low and the rice steams unevenly. In an oven the heat is even, the rice cooks through without attention, and the pot cannot scorch in the same way. For anyone who has ruined jollof on a hob, that is a real argument. What you trade away is the smoky note. That flavour comes precisely from the bottom of the pot catching slightly, and an oven does not give it. Cooks who want both build the base on the hob and finish in the oven. Everything else is unchanged: the same reduced tomato, red pepper, onion and chilli base, the same long-grain parboiled rice, the same rule about not stirring once it is covered. It scales well, which makes it useful for cooking for numbers.
AFN Heritage Note
Oven-baked jollof applies the standard West African jollof method in an oven rather than on a hob, trading the smoky note that comes from the base of the pot catching for even heat and reduced risk of burning.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Preheat oven to fan assisted 180°C / 350°F / gas 4.
- 2
Season the chicken with teaspoon paprika, turmeric, garlic, ginger, curry, bouillon cube, Salt and pepper and set aside.
- 3
Heat a frying pan with the oil over medium heat and add the anise, allspice pepper, bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves. Cook for a minute
- 4
Add and fry the onion for about 7 mins until soft.
- 5
Stir in the tomato purred and the tomato paste, cook for 5 minutes.
- 6
Add the water, vegetables (1 eggplant, 1 zucchini, 1 Summer squash, 2 carrots) and bring to a boil.
- 7
Heat a frying pan with the oil over medium heat and add the anise, allspice pepper, bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves. Cook for a minute
- 8
Add and fry the onion for about 7 mins until soft.
- 9
Stir in the tomato purred and the tomato paste, cook for 5 minutes.
- 10
Add the water, vegetables (1 eggplant, 1 zucchini, 1 Summer squash, 2 carrots) and bring to a boil.
- 11
Mixing in the rice and mix until well.
- 12
Add a layer of aluminum foil and make small incisions. Add the chicken and cover (Make sure the cover is over safe)
- 13
Transfer the Jollof rice mixture into the oven for about 20 minutes.
- 14
Remove from the oven stir and put back in the oven without the lid for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is soft and done.
- 15
When done take the rice out of the oven, fluff it and serve.
Africook’s Notes
- Cover tightly with foil or a lid. The rice cooks in trapped steam and a loose cover dries it out.
- Reduce the pepper base on the hob first. The oven will not drive off excess liquid the way a pan does.
- Do not stir once it goes in. Same rule as stovetop jollof, stirring breaks the grains.
- For the smoky note, build the base on the hob and let it catch very slightly before the dish goes in the oven.
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