Jollof Competition among Nations.

Ghana Jollof or Nigerian Jollof, which is better?

Nigeria and Ghana are West African sisters that often disagree on a lot of things. From who have the best music artistes, the best movies to the most effective government, and even economy. One disagreement that has stayed recurring and has been echoed around the world though is on who cooks the better Jollof. We can’t give our opinion without first taking you through the differences in the Ghanian recipe for Jollof.

                                            

Source: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article

The differences between Ghana and Nigerian Jollof lie first in the kind of rice used.

While the Ghanaians prefer basmati rice as the base for their Jollof rice, the Nigerians prefer long grain rice. Which significantly impacts the taste, as long grain rice usually absorbs the taste better, while basmati rice gives its own unique flavour to the dish.  For others, the difference lie in the tomato composition of the rice (Ghanaians do love their tomatoes), other spices and ingredients that eventually make up the taste of the rice, to even the seasoning cubes.

Ghanaians are also known to rarely have the smoky version of Jollof rice, while the Nigerians define smoky Jollof as the ‘proper’ Jollof. The burnt part of the rice is an important seasoning component, and don’t get us started on the smoke, we dedicated a whole blog story to talk about it. You can read that here www.https://jollyjollof.blogspot.com/
 

For other processes and methods, it just differs from person to person, and the final dish can be adjudged to be almost the same.

Before the feudal sides come for us, we are not saying it tastes the same, but as for which is better than the other, we resign by saying it lies in personal preference and is not a function of country.

We would love you to come and have a taste of Ghana Jollof and Nigerian Jollof for your own comparisons at Jolly Jollof when we open. We’d probably play a game where we serve you both dishes and you tell us which you think is better before you know which one is in each plate. Let your taste buds settle the fight.

We’d love to know what you think in the comments. Which do you prefer without sentiments.

JOLLY JOLLOF .

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Why is Party/Smoky Jollof, and how is it different?

 

Why is Party/Smoky Jollof, and how is it different?

 

In our last post we mentioned Jollof rice cooked in big pots and the difference in taste. Today we talk about if it’s myth or fact.

In some restaurants that offer the delicacy that is Jollof rice, you might find adjectives such as Party or Smoky. What is the difference to regular jollof?


To cook party/smoky jollof, the ingredient remains the same.

Tomatoes, Pepper, Oil, Salt, Curry, Garlic, Thyme, Rice, and the defining ingredient – Smoke.

Smoke? Yes smoke. It’s not called Smoky jollof for nothing.

For a full list of ingredients and how to cook Jollof rice, please visit our blog post below

https://jollyjollof.blogspot.com/2022/07/i-am-here-again-to-give-you-more.html

Years ago, when Jollof was to be cooked for large events such as parties, it was cooked over firewood with large aluminium pots. The burning of the firewood gave off smoke that would engulf the area and sometimes cause teary eyes. Since the aluminium pots didn’t have any non-stick properties, it tended to burn the rice at the bottom of the pot as it cooked.

(Add party jollof image cooked with big pots)

The flavour from the burnt rice at the bottom, the smoke of the firewood and the general hazardous and less eco-friendly conditions in which this rice was cooked ironically gives it the unique and better taste than home-cooked jollof.

In modern times, some restaurants have been able to replicate the taste with smaller pots and less smoke.

One method has been by adding a layer of foil to the top of the pot before covering it to ensure the heat is evenly distributed, and the burning doesn’t happen just at the bottom and for too long. Others have kept the aluminium pots but substituted firewood for large gas burners. At least, less fallen trees, less pollution and we still get tasty jollof.

One thing does remain the same though, it is always a fact that party/smoky jollof tastes better, and we can’t wait to share it with you when you visit Jolly Jollof restaurant when it opens. If you have discovered more eco-friendly ways to achieve the Smoky Jollof taste, let us know in the comment section.

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