1
Blend the sauce
Blend tomatoes with one onion, garlic, and ginger until smooth.
Ghana | Main dish
Ghanaian Jollof Rice
Ghanaian jollof rice with basmati rice steamed in a reduced tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, chile, and bay-leaf stew.
Country
Ghana
Region
West Africa
Time
80 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
Recipe overview
What to know before you cook
Ghanaian jollof is all about the stew before the rice. Fry the tomato base until it tastes rounded, then let basmati steam gently under a tight lid.
What the dish tastes like
Ghanaian jollof rice with basmati rice steamed in a reduced tomato, onion, ginger, garlic, chile, and bay-leaf stew.
When to cook it
Best for Parties, funerals, and Sunday meals, with a medium cooking level and about 80 minutes total.
What to serve alongside it
Shito, fried plantain, grilled chicken, salad, or kelewele
Follow the collection
One-Pot Wonders is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. One-Pot Wonders
Regional lane
Rice, beans, and street table. Waakye, jollof, kelewele, and lunch-counter plates with many sides.
Chef watch-outs
- Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
- Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
- Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
How you know it is ready
- The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
- The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
- Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
Pantry lane
shito, palm oil, sorghum leaves, fermented corn dough, groundnut
Recipe photos
See the dish before you cook
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Chef board
Build the table around Ghanaian Jollof Rice
Shito, fried plantain, grilled chicken, salad, or kelewele
Best route from here
Rice, beans, and street table
Collections to keep cooking
How to cook it
Step-by-step method
Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.
5 steps
80 min total
medium
2
Fry the tomato stew
Heat oil, cook sliced onion, then fry tomato paste. Add blended sauce, bay leaves, chile, and optional curry or thyme. Cook until thick and glossy.
Reduce stew
20:00
3
Add rice
Stir in washed rice until coated. Add hot stock or water and season well.
4
Steam
Cover tightly with foil and a lid. Cook on low until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
Steam rice
35:00
5
Rest and fluff
Rest off heat for 10 minutes, remove bay leaves and chile, then fluff gently.
Rest
10:00
Some cooks use curry powder, thyme, nutmeg, or stock cubes. The rice is often perfumed basmati or another long-grain rice.