Jollof Rice
I had a difficult time finding traditional West African recipes, the main one being referenced as ground nut (or peanut) stew, which my Mom used to make when I was a kid. I believe she got the recipe from my great grandmother.
This rice cooking method sounds a lot like jambalaya. The dish consists of rice, tomatoes and tomato paste, onion, salt, spices (such as nutmeg, ginger, Guinea pepper or cumin) and chili pepper, to which optional ingredients can be added such as vegetables, meats and fish.
To make, start with coconut oil to fry finely-chopped onions. When soft, add tomato paste and ground white pepper (plus any other regional ground or chopped spices) and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add stock and then rice (2:1 ratio) to cook and absorb all those flavours. Regional ingredients are: garlic, African nutmeg, tea-bush leaves (or you can use thai basil or thyme) and/or curry powder. I also saw options to stir in peas or cook the rice with chopped green pepper.
To serve, you can add cooked meat, fish or vegetables as a side dish, or stirred in like a casserole. It sounds fantastic!
For more ideas, I have posted in the past a chicken gumbo and red beans over rice, New Orleans style.
