About the Recipe
There might be some controversy surrounding the origins of this recipe. Though I will admit I have a Senegalese bias having lived there, I will try to avoid this controversy entirely by saying that the Jollof rice I prepared was something that made use of ingredients you can find quite readily even if you live in areas without African supermarkets.
Ingredients
For the rice
400g rice (or even one 500g packet if you have a large enough pot)
3 red peppers (without the seeds; I included only 1 when I made it because I'm not really a fan of peppers)
1 roughly chopped onion
3-4 garlic cloves minced/roughly chopped
Small quantity of ginger ideally grated, if not roughly chopped should be fine (around 1-2 tablespoons worth depending on how much you like it)
3-4 Birds Eye chillis roughly chopped (these are the ones most commonly available; adjust to your spice tolerance)
Healthy glug of oil
3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 Bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 chicken stock pot/cube
For the chicken
2 drumsticks per person or equivalent quantity of chicken thigh/leg
Salt
Garlic
Olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon
Pinch of rosemary
Preparation
For the rice
Fry: lightly fry the onion then add the ginger, garlic, chilli and peppers. Then add the tomato paste and fry a little longer.
Add the rest of the seasoning and the rice then stir to spread the sauce over the rice.
Add the stock pot and ensure the rice is submerged under about an inch of water. You can always add water to let the rice cook for slightly longer so consider this when adding water and try not to add too much.
Cook: you have options when cooking the rice. Either place in the oven at 200C for 45 minutes until desired doneness - this requires a pot that is oven safe. Or keep it at a gentle simmer on the stovetop for around 30 mins, or until the rice is done to your desired texture. Try to ensure the bottom does not burn if you are using the stovetop method. You can do this by cooking the rice on a lower temperature (I have found that in a lot of student accomodations the stovetops remain hot once they get hot so what I recommend is having 2 of the plates on with one on high heat to fry the aromatics and one on medium heat to cook the rice).
For the chicken
Prep the chicken: salt the outside skin of the chicken and let it dry a little. Then pat dry further with paper towel.
Start cooking the chicken: pour a little quantity of oil over the chicken thighs and then place in the oven at around 190C.
Prepare the flavourings: whilst the chicken starts to cook combine the olive oil, lemon zest, roughly chop the garlic and the thyme.
Combine: after around 5 minutes spread the flavourings over the chicken (this step ensures that the chicken cooks but the garlic does not burn)
Remove from the oven when the chicken is cooked and the skin is to your desired 'crunchyness'. If you are using brown meat (chicken thigs/legs/drumsticks) then don't worry too much about overcooking as it is unlikely to dry out quite in the same way as chicken breast. Focus more on the level of cooking you want for the skin and ensure the inside is thoroughly cooked.