Jollof Rice is a spicy rice dish from Senegal. Traditionally it is prepared with meat. This vegan Jollof Rice recipe shows you that it works just as well without animal ingredients.

The national dish of Senegal is Jollof Rice, a traditional rice dish that usually includes meat along with tomatoes, peppers and onions. However, since less meat consumption can have a positive effect on health and the climate, we are showing you a vegan Jollof Rice variant here.

Jollof Rice is very flavorful thanks to many spices such as curry powder, paprika powder and thyme. When buying spices, make sure they are of good quality. We recommend organically grown spices, which you can recognize by the Demeter, Bioland or Naturland logo, for example, because conventional spices are often contaminated with pesticides. If possible, you should also use organic products for the other ingredients. In this way you support agriculture that does not use chemical-synthetic pesticides, which is not only good for you, but also for the environment.

Jollof Rice: Aromatic rice dish from Senegal in vegan

Ingredients:

400 g canned tomatoes
2peppers
1red onion
2 clove(s) garlic
1chili pepper
2 tablespoons oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp smoked paprika powder
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp dried thyme
260 g parboiled rice
4bay leaves
480 g canned black-eyed peas
90 g okra pods
salt and pepper

Directions:

Chop the tomatoes, one of the peppers, the onion, the garlic and the deseeded chilli in a food processor. Alternatively, you can finely chop the ingredients with a knife. Then puree everything to a smooth mass.
Heat the oil in a pan and stir in the tomato paste. Add curry powder, (smoked) paprika powder, dried thyme and grated ginger root.
Stir everything well and let it simmer for five minutes over medium heat.
Wash the parboiled rice in a colander until the water runs clear. Add the rice to the sauce along with the bay leaves. Add enough water to completely cover the rice.
Cover and simmer the Jollof Rice over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. If the water boils off too quickly and the rice sticks to the bottom of the pot, add more water.
Drain the black bean eyes, give them a quick wash and add them to the rice. Cut the remaining peppers and okra into small pieces and add them to the pan as well.
Let the Jollof Rice simmer for another ten minutes until the vegetables and rice are tender and the sauce has reduced. Finally, season with salt and pepper and optionally garnish the Jollof Rice with some fresh thyme before serving.

Here’s how you can modify Jollof Rice

You can easily adapt Jollof Rice to your taste. You can also substitute individual ingredients if you don’t have them at home:

• Instead of black-eyed peas, you could use chickpeas.
• An alternative to the okra would be green beans.

For example, you can serve the following with Jollof Rice:

• Grilled tofu
• Fried plantains
• Fresh salad
• Vegan meatballs