Makes enough for about 6-8 people.

bullet 4 cups (or about 1 liter) white rice

bullet 2 tomatoes and 1 bell pepper (without seeds if you don't like things too
hot)
bullet OR 8 ounces (or about ¼ liter) canned tomato sauce and 3 ounces (or a
bout 90 milliliters) canned tomato paste
bullet Onion
bullet Salt
bullet Dry Red Pepper (like Cayenne pepper)
bullet Meat broth (about 1 cup or ¼ liters) or Magi cubes (about 4)
bullet Water
1. Unless the rice is pretty clean, you will want to rinse it before cooking
it.
2. Put the rice and about 6 cups (or about 1½ liters) of water into a pot and p
lace on high heat. (Some people prefer to boil the water and add the rice to boi
ling water. This is fine too.)
3. If you are using fresh ingredients (the tomatoes and pepper) blend them un
til they are smooth in texture (you can also grind the onion with this mixture).
4. Let the rice cook 10-15 minutes.
5. Add either the tomato/pepper mixture or the tomato sauce and tomato paste.
If you have not added the onion, you can slice or dice it now and add to the po
t, depending on how large you like your onions.
6. Add enough water to allow the rice to complete cooking (since you will not
be draining the rice, it is better to add too little and check up on it often,
than to add too much).
7. If you have any meat broth from boiling any meat, you can add it to this a
s well. Otherwise, unless you are a vegetarian, suggest adding about 4 magi cube
s for taste.
8. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt, and about ½ a teaspoon of dry red pepper (as
the rice is cooking, or as you are eating the finished product, you can add more
of either one of these so I really suggest starting out small, also useful if d
ifferent people who will be dining have different tastes).
9. Allow the rice to continue cooking until the rice is soft. If it is not dr
y at this point, then switch the heat to low to allow it to dry the excess water
without making the rice much softer. (Also, some people prefer to bake it once
they've added the ingredients...I suggest 350 degrees or so.)
10. Once cooked, add more salt or pepper to it if you wish.
Jollof Rice
One often hears that Jollof Rice (or Jolof Rice, Djolof Rice) is a Nigerian dish
; indeed it is often made by Nigerians. However, it has its origins among the Wo
lof people of Senegal and Gambia who make a rice and fish dish they call Ceebu Jën
. Since Nigeria has the largest population of any African country, it's safe to
say that most of the people who make and eat Jollof Rice are probably Nigerian.
There are many variations of Jollof Rice. The most common basic ingredients are:
rice, tomatoes and tomato paste, onion, salt, and red pepper. Beyond that, near
ly any kind of meat, fish, vegetable, or spice can be added.
nigerian rice
What you need
* oil for frying
* one chicken (and/or a pound or two of stew meat), chopped into bite-sized
pieces
* one or two onions, finely chopped
* salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (to taste)
* Flavoring add-ins (to taste)
 o chile pepper, chopped
o garlic
o thyme
o bay leaf
o ginger
o cinnamon
o curry powder
* two cups chicken broth or chicken stock, or beef broth or beef stock (or M
aggi® cubes and water)
* two or three ripe tomatoes, chopped
* Vegetable add-ins
o sweet green pepper (or bell pepper), chopped
o string beans or green beans
o green peas
o carrots, chopped
o cabbage, chopped
* four cups rice
* one small can tomato paste
* Meat add-ins
o cooked ham
o shrimp or prawns (or dried shrimp or dried prawns)
* Garnishes
o fresh parsley, chopped
o cilantro, chopped
o lettuce, shredded
o hard-boiled egg, sliced
What you do
* Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Stir-fry the chicken (or b
eef) in the oil until it is browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the oil a
nd set aside. Add the onions, the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and one or two o
f the flavoring add-ins (if desired) to the skillet and fry the mixture until th
e onions begin to become tender. Remove the onion mixture from the skillet and s
et aside with the meat.
* In a dutch oven or large covered cooking pot, bring the broth and two cups
of water to a simmer. Place the meat and onion mixture into the dutch oven and
cover.
* In the same skillet used for the meat and onions, stir-fry the tomatoes an
d one or two of the vegetable add-ins. Continue frying the mixture until the veg
etables are partly cooked, then add them to the meat, onions, and broth in the d
utch oven.
* Again in the same skillet, combine the rice and the tomato
paste. Over low heat, stir until the rice is evenly coated with the tomato paste
. The rice should end up a pink-orange color. Add the rice to the dutch oven and
stir gently.
* Cover the dutch oven and cook the mixture over a low heat until the rice i
s done and the vegetables are tender (maybe half an hour). Stir gently occasiona
lly and check to see that the bottom of the pot does not become completely dry.
Add warm water or broth (a quarter cup at a time) as necessary to help rice cook
. Adjust seasoning as needed. If desired, add one of the meat add-ins while the
dish is cooking. (Shrimp cook very quickly and should not be over-cooked or they
will become tough; ham can be added at any time.)
* Serve with one or two of the garnishes.
* Serve Ginger Beer or Green Tea with Mint with or after the meal.
Ceebu Jën is one of Senegal's classic dishes. There are dozens of possible variati
ons; use this recipe as a starting point and put in whatever you like or leave o
ut what you don't.
There are three steps to making Ceebu Jën:
 * frying onion and fish that has been stuffed with roof (or roff), a flavori
ng mixture
* cooking tomatoes and other vegetables in the oil that was used to fry the
fish
* cooking the rice in broth from the vegetables.
The fish, vegetables, rice (including the scrapings from the bottom of the pot,
called xooñ), and cooking liquid are combined for a grand presentation.
west african woman with basket
What you need
* stuffing mixture (roof or roff):
o one or two sweet peppers (or bell peppers) (green, yellow, or red);
chopped
o one onion or two leeks or several scallions, chopped
o garlic, minced (optional)
o a small bunch of parsley or a bay leaf (or some similar fresh herb)
o salt
o hot chile pepper, cleaned and chopped (optional)
* one cup peanut oil, or for an authentic red color: red palm oil
* two onions, chopped
* a piece of dried, salted, or smoked fish, such as cod or herring, (stockfi
sh is often used); the piece should be about half the size of your hand
* two to three pounds of fish: whole, filets, or steaks; cleaned (sea bass,
hake, haddock, sea bream, halibut, or any similar firm-fleshed fish)
* tomato paste
* three or four tomatoes (peeled if desired), whole
* one or more of the following root vegetables and tubers:
o carrots, chopped
o sweet cassava (also called manioc, yuca, or yucca) tuber; or potatoe
s, chopped
o yams (sweet potatoes are not the same, but may be substituted), chop
ped
* hot chile pepper, such as habanero or serrano chile, whole, but pricked wi
th a fork
* one or more of the following leaf and fruit vegetables:
o cabbage, chopped
o one or two sweet peppers (or bell peppers) (green, yellow, or red);
left whole
o one squash (any kind will do) or zucchini, cleaned and chopped
o eggplant (aubergine, or guinea squash), peeled and chopped
o okra, whole, but with ends removed
* several cups of rice (In Senegal, this dish is often made with broken rice
. Short-grained rice can be used, and it can be broken by soaking it in water, d
raining it, then mashing it with your hands or a blunt object like the end of a
bottle.)
What you do
* Prepare the roof (or roff) by combining the stuffing mixture ingredients a
nd grinding them into a paste, adding a little oil or water if needed. Many cook
s include what seems to be an essential in Africa: a Maggi cube. Cut deep slits
into the fish (but not all the way through) and stuff them with the roof mixture
.
* Heat the oil in a large pot. Fry the onions and dried/salted/smoked fish f
or a few minutes. Then fry the fresh fish for a few minutes on each side. Remove
the fish and set aside.
* Stir the tomato paste and a cup of water into the oil in the pot. Add the
root vegetables and tubers and the hot chile pepper. Add water to partially cove
r them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or more.
* Add the leaf and fruit vegetables, place the fried fish on top of them, an
d continue to simmer for an additional twenty minutes or until the vegetables ar
e tender.
* The fish and all the vegetables and set them aside, keeping them warm. Rem
ove a cup or two of the vegetable broth and set it aside. Add the rice to the ve
getable broth. Add water or remove liquid as necessary to obtain two parts liqui
d to one part rice. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on very low heat until th
e rice is cooked--about twenty minutes. It should stick a little to the bottom o
f the pot.
* Find the hot chile among the vegetables. Combine it to the reserved vegeta
ble broth in a small saucepan and bring to a slow boil. Remove and discard the p
epper and put the sauce into a dish or gravy boat.
* When the rice is done turn the pot over onto a large serving platter. Scra
pe the crust (the xooñ) from the bottom of the pot over the rice. Arrange the fish
and vegetables over and around the rice. Garnish with parsley and sliced limes
(to squeeze over fish) as desired.
* Serve Jus de Bissap with your meal, and Green Tea with Mint afterwards.

Fish -- stuffed with onions or peppers, and fried -- is common in many African c
ountries along the Atlantic coast; see: Fish & Onions in Tomato Sauce and Mulet
Farci à la Saint-Louisienne.