Nigerian Chicken Jollof Rice | One-Pot Tomato Rice with Fried Chicken

Wash and pat the chicken dry. Rub it with 9 g salt, thyme, curry powder, black pepper, and grated onion; let it rest for 10 minutes. Put the chicken in a large pot and add enough water to cover it (about 700 ml). Once the water boils, reduce the heat, leave the lid slightly ajar, and cook for 15 minutes. Insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the meat without touching the bone; it should read 74°C / 165°F. Touching the bone can give a misleading reading of the bone’s temperature. Remove the chicken, strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve, and measure out 450 ml for the rice.

Coarsely chop the tomatoes, red bell peppers, hot pepper, and 150 g onion, then blend them. The purée should be smooth but not watery. If it is too thin, let it drain in a fine-mesh sieve for 5 minutes to remove excess water. This purée is called obe ata in Nigeria and provides both the rice’s color and its sauce; replacing it with prepared tomato sauce will leave the rice pink.

Heat 60 ml oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed pot. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 4 minutes, until lightly golden. Add the tomato paste and cook for 4–5 minutes, until its color darkens and oil separates around the edges. Add the purée, bay leaves, thyme, and curry powder. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It is ready when the volume has reduced by one-third, red pools of oil form on the surface, and a track drawn across the bottom with a spoon stays open for 1 second.

Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then drain it well; surface starch makes the grains stick. Add the rice to the sauce and stir for 2 minutes, until every grain is coated. Add 450 ml hot chicken broth and 6 g salt; the liquid should sit 1 cm above the rice. Do not add more. Once it boils, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, stretch aluminum foil over the top of the pot, and cover with the lid. Cook for 25 minutes without opening the lid. Do not stir; stirring at this stage will make the jollof mushy.

Open the lid and taste a grain: it should be firm but have no hard white center. If it is still hard, drizzle 50 ml hot water around the edge of the pot, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes. If it is done, raise the heat to medium for 2 minutes. As soon as you hear a light sizzle and smell smoke from the bottom, turn off the heat. That deliberate browning creates the party jollof flavor; the bottom should be browned, not charred. If the smell becomes sharp, it has gone too far. Leave the pot off the heat, covered, to rest for 10 minutes.

Pat the boiled chicken thighs and drumsticks thoroughly dry with paper towels; wet skin will steam rather than fry. Heat 2 tablespoon (15 ml) of oil in a large pan. Arrange the pieces skin side down and fry each side for 4–5 minutes, until the skin is golden and crisp. The chicken was cooked in Step 1, so this step is only for color and texture. Keep the heat at medium-high and do not overcrowd the pan.

Remove the bay leaves. Use the tines of a fork to lift and turn the rice from the bottom up; pressing with a spoon will crush the grains. Fold in the dark, browned layer at the bottom for its smoky aroma. Spoon the rice onto plates, top each with a piece of chicken, and serve with thinly sliced raw onion or tomato.