Jollof Rice

Method

1. mix5 min
   blender, smooth
   tomato + red bell pepper + scotch bonnet + half the onion + garlic + ginger, blended to a loose purée = the base. Do not add water to help it turn over; every spoonful you add here is a spoonful you have to boil off later, and boiling it off later is what burns the bottom
2. saute5 min
   medium, in the oil
   sliced onion + tomato paste, stirred constantly until the paste turns from bright red to brick and stops smelling tinny — raw paste is sour and stays sour through the whole cook
3. reduce15 min
   medium, uncovered, stirring often
   + blended base, cooked down until the volume drops by roughly half, the surface goes matte, and a slick of oil breaks back out at the edges. That oil separating is the signal: it means the water is gone and what is left is concentrated tomato, so the stock you add next is the entire liquid budget and you actually know its number
4. season5 min
   medium
   + curry powder + thyme + bay leaf + salt + black pepper + chicken stock, brought to a boil and tasted now — the rice will sit under a lid for 25 minutes and you cannot correct salt through it without stirring, and stirring is what you are about to give up
5. mix2 min
   off heat briefly
   + rinsed parboiled rice, folded through once so every grain is coated and the liquid sits level with the rice or a hair below. Rinsing mattered: the loose surface starch is what glues grains into a porridge
6. simmer25 min
   lowest heat, tight lid, no stirring
   covered, undisturbed. Lay foil under the lid if it does not seal — the rice is cooking in trapped steam, not in liquid, and every peek vents the steam that is meant to cook the top layer. Do not stir: agitating hot rice shears the grains and releases starch, which is the difference between separate grains and clumped ones. The scorched layer at the bottom is not a mistake; it is the smoke that party jollof is prized for
7. rest10 min
   off heat, still covered
   the pot sits sealed so residual steam finishes the top and the grains firm up before they are moved. Fluff with a fork from the edge inward, folding in butter, peas and carrot if using — a spoon crushes; a fork lifts