I believe I have Mary Eze to thank for this. Mary where are you ooooooooooo, you have been called out. Please read this and testify. She was the very first person who told me you can make Jollof rice in an oven. Never heard of it before, prior to that day. She explained the process, which I found quite intriguing and I promised to try it out. Somehow, when the thought to make Jollof rice pops up, out of habit I go my Party Jollof rice route (recipe HERE), which has always worked. Once or twice I think Mary left a comment reminding me to try her method and again I would forget. My apologies for that Mary. I hope you didn’t think I was discounting the efficacy of your method. A few days ago someone posted her success with the Oven method and it finally clicked within me. I was going to try it out. I got back from work yesterday tired like nothing else, but because I am going to be off work till Wednesday (amen somebody), I ignored the fatigue and got to cooking. I even devised something quite interesting in the process of making this jollof rice, which I am going to share in another post.
Making this was quite interesting. I had to go back to the original party jollof rice post to dig out Mary’s comment. That post has almost 200 comments but I was not deterred. I found it, it was a brief summary and I thought crap, I need more details. Now, if this was a baking recipe, I would not even try it, but with cooking, my mind always fills in the blank spaces, and I make up the steps in my head. The one thing I have against this process (you know you can count on me to tell you the whole picture), was the fact that the finished product though delicious, tasted like the rice did not entirely absorb the flavour of the fried stew. I have quite a very discerning palate. My taste buds are very acute and in the background I could taste a hint of plain boiled rice, which as very strange because the rice was cooked in the sauce from scratch. It just felt as if, someone mixed in plain boil rice into it. Now, I don’t know if this is a characteristic of oven baked jollof rice, because the heat is not as intense as cooking on a stove. I was watching the rice closely and it did not bubble like you would expect with cooking jollof rice on a stove. The beauty of it is, my dear neighbour Funmi came over last night to takeaway the Jollof rice and she said the same thing to me this morning. Honestly she did. In fact, I deliberately did not talk at first, just so I wouldn’t put words in her mouth. She echoed my thoughts perfectly. Did I mention that Funmi is a fantastic cook too? Don’t try her Jollof rice or Ewa Aganyin stew o, or her white Okro soup. Don’t even try her cheesecake. She has converted me and she is making it for me tomorrow. Yaaaaaay.
With my Project Managers hat on, I think the reason I got this result was because I used baking paper to cover and not foil, so therefore, the oven dish was not properly sealed to lock in the steam as well as the flavour. I had run out of foil paper. Steam is very useful to lock in and help absorb flavour, when cooking foods that are originally hard and need to soften while cooked in a rich pepper stock. Which is why you cover the pot when cooking jollof rice, beans, yam porridge and the likes. The pot cover is not just for decoration. Lol. I would try it again, this time with foil, properly seal the edges and invite my neighbour over for a rematch. Who knows, there may come a time in my life where I would need to use an oven because that is the only thing I have access to, I never give up when it gets to trying out new things with food, so stay tuned. You try it out and use the foil and tell me your results. Here’s how
You will need
3 cups easy cook rice – standard measuring cup of 250ml
3 cups fried pepper stock
3 cups of water
Seasoning cubes
Salt
Dried Thyme
Curry powder
1 Red Onion
2 Bay leaves
1 small can of tomato puree – i used Derica
2 pieces of Ata rodo – scotch bonnet/habanero pepper
1 piece of Tatashe
3 pieces of Tomatoes or 1 can of Plum Tomato
Vegetable oil – i used sunflower oil
Beef Stock
How To
1. Blend the tomatoes, with the onion, tatashe and chilli. Set aside.
2. Chop a little more onions, heat up a saucepan and add the onions. Let it fry for a bit, then sprinkle in the curry and thyme. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: it is best to fry spices in oil, this helps to release their flavour making their effect more intense.
3. Add the previously blended pepper and tomato puree. Fry for a few minutes and then add beef stock and continue frying. According to Mary’s recipe, I don’t need to fry for as long as I would with the traditional party jollof rice method. Maybe I would fry the same as if I was using a pot, the next time I make this. Don’t think it contributed to the end result though.
4. While the pepper is frying, wash the rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. This took me 3 trials. Place the washed rice into the heat proof oven dish. You can also use a square foil dish.
5. Pour in the fried pepper. This time I also measured out 3 cups. I finished off with adding bay leaves.
6. Add water. I measured 2 and 1/4 cups of water. Re-season again with salt and Knorr. Dooney’s Kitchen Tip: i used one cube of knorr chicken and sprinkled in a some salt.
7. Cover with foil paper and seal the edges tightly. Place in the oven and bake at 250 (480 in Fahrenheit) for 45 minutes.
8. At the 15 – 20minute mark, take it out of the oven and stir.
Chances are that you would see a thick film of pepper sauce on top. My observation: see how the rice beneath looks like plain boiled rice? For the volume of fried pepper I used in relation to the volume of water, I wasn’t expecting that result. This is why I am suspecting the lack of steam could be the culprit.
Or it could be that the volume of water I added (2 and 1/4cup) was not enough to match the 3 cups of fried pepper, so the pepper floated to the top giving off that hint of boiled rice. I used less water because when making Party Jollof rice, that is what works. Next time wi would use equal volumes of water and fried pepper or even more water and re-season. I am mentioning my pitfalls, just so you avoid it. Stir to combine and place back in the oven.
9. After 35minutes, take it out again and stir.
Slice onion rings and tomatoes if you have (i didn’t) place on top. Put it back in the oven for the final 10minutes.
10. By the final 10 minutes, this is what you should have
a closer shot of the oven dish
see what I meant by the hint of plain boiled rice flavour? The colour is fab, the classic Jollof rice flavour, but you can still see some flecks of white rice.
Again, I have to stress that the rice was delicious. I am not knocking down this method at all. My taste buds are just really very astute. I will definitely want to try it again, next time using equal quantities of water and fried pepper and also using foil paper to seal the edges in and prevent steam from escaping. If you are a Pro at using this method, and you have more tips, please share your wisdom gotten from experience.
Ooooooh, I have been blessed with more tips. Thanks ladies. I have taken it all on board, and will try it again. Let us consider this as How to Cook Jollof rice in an Oven Part 1 – the cooking the rice in the oven from scratch method and then I will be posting a Part 2, the starting half way on the stove and then finishing off in the oven. Thanks again ladies. I appreciate the help.
Jus chkd dis page a few mins ago. Glad u’v got anoda awesome technique ere. More ice_cream 2 ur elbow missy
Thank you very much Mowotorlarnie
U r such a genius.
Aaaaaw, thanks Victoria.
U r very welcome
I bake my jollof rice in the oven but I mix it first before I add to the baking pan. I also cover with foil and it comes out amazing. I also add a little bit of crayfish to it. Hope your next trial comes out ok
Thank you Ugo for the tip. I will definitely be making it again and post as a Part 2
I think I know why the rice tasted different. I cook oven jollof rice a lot. After frying the stew, and adding the seasoning, I wash uncooked rice, and add that to the stew in the pot. Like you are cooking the rice with the stew. Add stock if more water is needed but not too much. Then stir and allow to cook for a while. When the water has dried and the rice parboiled. Pour the rice into the oven pan, depending on how hard the rice is, add stock, the esteem will make it soft. I also add butter to the rice, for extra flavor. Now you can also add the sliced tomatoes and onions, the tomato adds moisture to the rice. Cover with foil and allow the oven work it’s magic. Check occasionally for salt and tenderness, you can add more stock/water mixed with salt.
Ah ha, you see. I wanted to try that o, and I thought why. What is the point if you start halfway on the stove before the oven. I should just have listened to my food intuition. Thank you for the tips, I definitely would be trying it again.
You know I am not much of a cook but this method is how I cook mine because it never burns. I am the queen of burnt-haha. I put all in the pot and mix it well, let it cook a little on the stove then move it to the already heated and ready oven. I am thinking that you had some white rice because you did not mix it well in the beginning before placing the foil. Let’s know the next outcome.
Oooooh, thanks for your tip Mtee. Much appreciated
I always cook y jollof rice in the oven but for me, I mix all the ingredients on the stove and let cook for about 5 minutes before transferring to the oven
This method seems to be the common one, start on the stove and then transfer to the oven. Thanks for sharing
Dooney try our coconut jellof rice plus crayfish in the oven and you will never look at jellof rice the same way again! The thing that thrills me about it is that the rice comes out in singles yet not dry. It has always been a hit when I made it.
Oooooh, coconut and crayfish. Wowzer.
Another way I do it is that I allow the stew to dry a little bit on the stove before I put it in the oven and I keep checking it and adding a little water at a time till it comes out perfect.
Thank you Ekwitosi, I will be trying that. I wish I had listened to myself to start the process on the stove and then transfer to the oven. I cooked it from scratch in the oven. I will try that next time and post it as a part 2.
Have you seen my email?
My brother did that method&I was surprise; saw the method when he went to visit someone& since then; that is the only way he cooks jollof rice now.
Wooohooo. For a guy, I am impressed
Interesting approach, but it seems a tad more stressful than just cooking on the stove. Especially cause you have to take it in and out a couple of time. #just ma tot.
Not necessarily. It was a good experiment though. Some people actually find this to be their go to method for making Jollof rice
good job,well done. God bless u
Amen, and you too. Thanks
Nice,well done as usual!please when would you teach us how to make sharwarma?
It is on my list. One day, I would get to making it, hopefully
Ekwi, can you share the recipe for the crayfish coconut rice. We used to make this at home and it always tasted fantastic. I am sure Dooney will be on this soon.
Mtee, you don’t worry. I will email her for that recipe
Ohh M Gee!! Dunni i have to start praying harder for God to bless your heart. Kiloderm??? i was just discussing this with my sister, about to call my aunt to ask her how she makes her JF in the oven…Girl!! You have saved me that trip *inmyNeneLeakesvoice* Mmuah! BTW..i made Banana bread without baking powder days ago and i purged ohh! sorry to gross you out. i doubt that was the reason tho. You da best joor!
Aaaaaaw, thanks Sophie. Please try it and let me know. Remember to start the process on the stove, the rice included, and then finish in the oven.
Great post. Your blog is fab btw
Thank you Moji
Welcome to the oven baked jollof rice club. I became a convert about 10 years ago and haven’t gone back to stove top cooked jollof rice since.
I do, however parboil my rice as with the stove top method. I then mix the rice with my stock in an oven safe dish/pan; then mix in the stew, season to taste and cover with foil. I do not pre cook on the stove first as I think it’s an unnecessary extra step and gives me one more pot to wash. I also recently learnt on SYTYCC that you can add liquid smoke to it for that burnt flavor. I did that for Sunday lunch today and my family approved.
Keep shinning the light on Nigerian cuisine. I noticed the ads have started coming. Here’s to many more ads!
In fact, I have truly been behind the game. I will be trying it again for dinner with the new tips you guys have provided. Thank you Vivian
Been meaning to try this recipe forever,finally did and it was a great success, my family couldn’t get enough. Hubby said it’s the best jollof rice I ever made lol
Aaaaaw, well done Dhayoh
Used your recipe and that of Bolaji and it was great. Thanks Dooney
Well done Dhayoh. Happy to help
I fried it a tad longer and it turned out beautifully!! Thank you most kindly….
You are welcome Bibi. Happy to help
Late to the party! But I always parboil a little bit on the stove first and I put it in the oven in a covered enameled cast iron pot not a baking pan, this seals in the flavour and retains the heat well. No more burnt bottom! I love cast iron!!
Hi Dunni! A tip to make it taste more like party rice is to cook using aluminum foil, then bring out and place the foil on direct high heat on the stove for the next 10 minutes to smoke it