Oven baked jollof rice

So if you have Nigerian and Ghanaian friends or use social media, I am sure you have heard or seen the jollof debate between the two countries about which one has the most delicious jollof. Fun fact is jollof is actually from Sénégal! Now, the most difficult part about cooking jollof is making sure it doesn't burn or stick to the pan which takes effort and experience. So  today, I am sharing my favorite jollof recipe ( I don't know if its Ghanaian or Nigerian thou !) cooked in the oven! So you don't have to worry about the rice burning.

What you will need :
• a large square baking pan
• 4 cups of rice (I use basmati)
• 5 cups of vegetable broth or water
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 whole onion, 2 bell peppers (1yellow, 1red), 3 green onions
• 1 green pepper,  2 shredded carrots, 1 celery stick chopped
• 1 cups of frozen eas
• 4 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp dried thyme leaves
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
• salt and black pepper to taste
• cilantro for garnish

Preparation :

• Preheat oven to 380°F
• rince the rice twice
• chop all the ingredients and add them except cilantro in the baking pan mix well
• cover tightly with aluminum foil
• let bake for one hour
• taste to check if the rice is fully cooked
• remove from oven and stir well
• add the cilantro for garnish
And voilà!!

Tips :
• I use basmati rice because it doesn't stick together, cooking time may differ if you are using other types of rice
• If using brown basmati, cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes instead
• you can add your preferred type of meat to the recipe
• you can use other type of broths
• omit the cayenne pepper if cooking for children (it gets super spicy!)
• feel free to add your preferred vegetables
• you need about 1lb of vegetables in total
• adjust your cooking temperature based on your oven as they may vary

I hope you give this recipe a try and I pray that it is successful! 😊