food : jollof rice
I had been wanting to try this for awhile after my wife suggested it. Eventually I ordered some appropriate curry powder and got to it. In the end it was too spicy for my wife and daughter. I tried making a less spicy batch, but it wasn't as good. So I tend to make a batch every week or so and gnosh on it as an extra snack. I have also experimented, unsuccessfully, with adding vegan meat substitutes to the dish; I like it best without them.
I imagine that my version of this is not particularly authentic, but it still tastes pretty good!
Ingredients
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red bell pepper, seed and rough chopped | |
| 1 | Serano chili, rough chopped, seeded if desired | |
| 1 | Onion, rough chopped | |
| 1 | Onion, thinly sliced | |
| 3 | Tomatoes, rough chopped | |
| 2 | Tbsp | Cooking oil of choice |
| 1.5 | Cup | Long grain or basmati rice |
| 1 | Tbsp | Curry powder, jamaican or the like if possible, definitely a spicy one; not Japanese or Indian style if possible |
| 1.5 | tsp | Thyme |
| 0.5 | Cup | Water |
| 1 | Veggie bouillon cube | |
| 1 | tsp | Salt; or to taste |
| 1 | Tbsp | Coconut oil (optional) |
Instructions
- Use a blender/mixi-jar to blend/puree the bell pepper, serano, rough chopped onion (saving the sliced one for later), and tomatoes. Set aside.
- Break up the bouillon cube into a cup/bowl with the water. Microwave for 1.5 minutes and stir (move forward with other things while this is happening).
- Turn on the instant pot to sautee mode. Add the oil once it is hot.
- Add the sliced onion. Cook until starting to turn golden/brown a bit.
- Add curry powder, stir and cook until mixed with the onions well; approx 1 minute.
- Add the rice, thyme, and salt. Stir. Expect some sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Pour the puree from the blender over everything and stir.
- Pour in the water/bouillon mixture. Stire and scrape the bottom to remove stuck bits.
- Turn off sautee mode. Put on the instant pot lid. Turn on rice mode and let cook until done.
- Fluff the rice. If using the coconut oil, add it here and stir.
- Eat!
Notes
- Instead of water and bouillon cube you can just use veggie broth/stock. I don't tend to make it very often and don't like buying it from the store, so tend toward bouillon cubes for things like this where only a half cup is needed.
- I have found the coconut oil to be a nice addition, but definitely not necessary. If you don't have any, feel free to leave it out (or experiment with other oils/fats).
- I have found that the quality of the tomatoes makes a big difference. Get good tomatoes.