Jollof Rice

Jollof rice is a one-pot dish of rice cooked in a base of blended tomatoes, red peppers, onions and spices until the grains turn a deep orange-red and soak up the smoky, savoury sauce. It is typically served with fried plantain, grilled or fried chicken, fish or beef.

Prized for the faint smokiness at the bottom of the pot — the coveted party jollof flavour — it is the centrepiece of celebrations, weddings and gatherings across West Africa.

Jollof rice is widely traced to the Wolof people of the Senegambia region (modern Senegal and The Gambia), where a related dish, thieboudienne, is a national treasure. From there it spread across West Africa, each country developing its own version.

Today it fuels the good-natured 'Jollof Wars', an ongoing rivalry — especially between Nigeria and Ghana — over whose jollof reigns supreme. More than a meal, it is a symbol of West African identity and pride, celebrated even with its own unofficial 'World Jollof Rice Day'.