THE JOLLOF RICE AND FRIED CHICKEN, A CULINARY SYMBOL OF NIGERIAN FOOD CULTURE.

Photo collage of Nigerian Jollof Rice and Fried Chicken (Camera Type: Tecno Pop 2).

Taking Nigeria as a geogrphical region, rice is the most eaten and the most important food grain. It is a major source of carbohydrates for the majority of Nigerians. The most common way rice is eaten in Nigeria is in the Rice and Stew dish. Here a tomatoes based source with blended chili peppers and onions are cooked into a thick stew usually with pieces of beef or fish and it is served on a plate of boiled white rice.

Bucket measurement of locally grown Nigerian Short grain rice(Camera Type: Tecno Pop 2).

Aside the regular Rice and Stew Nigerian dish, Nigeria boasts a variety of special rice delicacies such as the Jollof Rice, Fried Rice, Coconut Rice and the Banga Rice(rice cooked in the juice of the oil palm fruit) just to mention a few. Of all these special rice dishes, the most popular and possibly the favourite of the majority of Nigerians is the Jollof Rice.

In truth, the Jollof Rice is a celebration or party time meal. It is a delicacy and it is prepared on special days like birthdays, weddings, religious holidays, general party celebrations and on Sundays particularly in middle income and rich families. Usually the Jollof Rice is prepared and served with fried chicken but other animal proteins do just fine particularly when fried, oven baked or made into barbeques.

The main distinguishing feature of the Nigerian Jollof Rice from other rice delicacies is the generous quantities of fresh blended tomatoes and tomatoes paste used in the recipe. It is basically rice cooked in a rich tomatoes based sauce with seasoning and spices added as desired.

Fresh Tomatoes and Tomatoes Paste, principal ingredients in Jollof Rice recipe (Camera Type: Tecno Pop 2).

Another distinguishing feature of the Jollof Rice is it's orange to redish hue and this is because of the generous quantities of tomatoes used in preparing the dish. For a serving of four, as much as six large fresh tomatoes and 250g of tomatoes paste are used. Like every other recipe, the Jollof Rice Recipe can be varied to suit different palates so veggies could be added and anything else unwanted can be taken out except of course the tomatoes and the tomatoes paste because to do that would make it an entirely different rice recipe than the Jollof Rice recipe. For example if you look at my photo collage in my heading, to the top left is a pot of Jollof Rice prepared with canned green peas. Other ways of varying the recipe includes adding finely chopped beef liver, sausages or carrots.

In the majority of high class Nigerian restaurants, the Jollof Rice is on the menu of the most expensive rice dishes. The Jollof Rice is truly an iconic culinary symbol of Nigerian food culture.

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NOTE
THIS POST WILL BE SHARED ON TWITTER. ALL PHOTOGRAPHS USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE MINE, CAPTURED THROUGH THE LENS OF MY TECNO POP 2 CAMERA.