Jollof needs no introduction, it is a well loved staple in West Africa, particularly in Ghana and Nigeria. It originates from Senegal and the Gambia region sometimes grouped into a historical region named Senegambia. It truly is a one pot dish but we often get lost in all the add-ons that populate our plates.
As much as I love our glorified jollof, I can count the number of times I actually cook it in an entire year. Not for the lack of love that I have for it but the lack of time. This dish takes effort people!… and I will cook it when I want to make something special for my loved ones. Even if we can find pre-packaged sauce for jollof rice, I guarantee that the day I decide to cook it, I will make a huge quantity. And here lies the dilemma. There is only so much jollof that 2 people can eat in one sitting, and on top of that, leftover jollof really loses its spark, in my humble opinion.
I made a large batch from scratch last week and as I am trying to be a clever mum and home maker (and all the feminists out there just shoot me, we all have to cook and clean our homes lest we get fat from fries and take-out and live or die in our own filth)…. where was I? Oh yes! I froze the rest as soon as it had cooled down.
But when would I ever use it? There is nothing as sand paperish as re-heated jollof rice. Tonight I did not really want to make a huge effort in the kitchen so I pulled my frozen jollof and defrosted it in the microwave.
I happened to have a pack of chicken thigh fillets and some fresh thyme. I got chopping and ended up with what I can only describe as twice fried jollof and chicken. 20 minutes flat. I will do my best to tell you how I made it tomorrow.
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