Chicken Jollof Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 4 chicken legs (about 250 g each)
• 300 g long-grain rice
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400 g) + 2 tbsp tomato purée (30 g)
• 1 red pepper (about 150 g)
• 2 brown onions (about 100 g each)
• 2 fresh red chillies
• 3 garlic cloves + 15 g fresh ginger
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (1 for the chicken, 2 for the sauce)
• 3 tsp curry powder (1 for the chicken, 2 for the sauce)
• 1 tsp dried thyme + 2 bay leaves
• 1 chicken stock cube + 350 ml hot water
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Flameproof casserole dish with lid
• Blender (jug or stick blender)
• Baking tray
• Colander
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Remove the skin from the chicken legs by pulling it off firmly with a sheet of kitchen paper, then make 2 or 3 deep cuts in the flesh so the spices really penetrate.
2. Rub the chicken legs with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp curry powder, salt and pepper. Place them on the baking tray and roast for 40 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden and the juices near the bone run clear. Keep them warm in the switched-off oven.
3. Meanwhile, blend the chopped tomatoes, the deseeded pepper cut into pieces, 1 onion cut into quarters, the chillies, and the peeled garlic and ginger until smooth. Deseed the chillies for a milder version.
4. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water, stirring it with your hand, until the water runs almost clear, then drain well. Peel and thinly slice the second onion.
5. In the casserole dish, heat 2 tbsp oil over a medium heat and soften the sliced onion for 5 minutes. Add the tomato purée, 2 tsp curry powder and the thyme, then stir for 2 minutes until the purée darkens slightly.
6. Pour in the blended purée and add the bay leaf. Cook for 15 minutes over a medium heat, stirring often, until the sauce has reduced by about a third and the oil beads on the surface: that's the secret to jollof's flavour.
7. Add the drained rice and the stock (cube dissolved in 350 ml hot water), season lightly with salt, stir just once and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly and cook over a very low heat for 20 to 25 minutes without lifting the lid.
8. Check it's cooked: the rice should be tender and the liquid absorbed. If it's still firm, add 3 tbsp water and cook for 5 minutes more. Turn off the heat, leave to rest, covered, for 5 minutes, remove the bay leaf and fluff up with a fork.
9. Serve the rice piping hot with one golden chicken leg per person. A thin toasted crust on the bottom of the pot is normal: in Nigeria and Ghana alike, it's the part everyone fights over.