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Holiday recipe: Make jollof rice from Comfort Kitchen chef Kwasi Kwaa

Learn how to prepare this Ghanaian dish for the holidays from Comfort Kitchen chef Kwasi Kwaa.

Chef Kwasi Kwaa shares his recipe for jollof rice. (Photo courtesy of Kwasi Kwaa)

By Annie Jonas

No matter what holidays you celebrate, you’ll want a recipe on hand that can feed and please a crowd. We asked Boston area chefs for their favorite holiday dishes and a recipe to share with Boston.com readers. 

Kwasi Kwaa, chef partner at Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester, offered jollof rice. Jollof rice is a West African favorite and Ghanaian staple that is renowned in part because it has generated a debate among West African countries on who makes it the best, Kwaa said.

“As native of Ghana, [I am] definitely biased in that debate,” he said. Either way, he said he wants to make it famous in Boston as well.

More holiday recipes:

Even though the holiday season can be especially hectic for Kwaa as a chef, he manages to find time to spend with his family and friends at family gatherings, which always feature jollof rice. 

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“It’s something that we always have at any celebration: Thanksgiving, birthdays, Easter, you name it,” he said. “Any celebration that happens in our family, this dish is always there.”

It’s a crowd-pleaser not only for its mouth-watering flavor, but also for its adaptability to individual tastes and preferences.

“It’s a dish that, once made, everybody can enjoy. It’s spicy, but whoever’s making it can really adjust it to whatever needs they and their guests have,” he said.

The vibrant color of the dish comes from its tomato base, which is packed with spices, chilies and ginger. The tomato base is slowly simmered before the rice is added. Kwaa recommends making the tomato base a day before to give it a chance to meld and intensify in flavor. Then, the rice is added to the sauce and cooked until it sticks to the bottom of the pan.

While the dish isn’t on the menu at Comfort Kitchen, it is a nod to Comfort Kitchen’s identity as a celebration of the ingredients and flavors of the African diaspora.

“Comfort Kitchen is a restaurant that’s very diverse. The concept is very much global comfort food with an emphasis on the African diaspora and ingredients that have made its way to the Americas and Asia,” he said.

How to make jollof rice, according to Comfort Kitchen’s Kwasi Kwaa:

Ingredients

  • 1 large yellow onion – minced
  • 1.5 teaspoons minced scotch bonnet chilis (for less heat, can be substituted with habanero chilis)
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1.5 teaspoons minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon tomato paste
  • 4 large tomatoes (use can tomatoes if preferred)
  • 2 cups vegetable stock/water
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 cups rice (basmati or jasmine)
  • 1 sprig of basil (leaves and stems)

Instructions

  1. Sautée diced onions, garlic, chilis, and ginger. Let caramelize, but not too browned. Add tomato paste and cook on medium heat, for about 5 minutes, letting the tomato bloom out. (This cooks out the acidity)
  2. Deglaze as needed with water or vegetable stock (adding liquid to the hot pan is a process that helps break down the extra flavors and ingredients that tend to stick to the bottom of the pan as the acid in the tomato paste cooks out)
  3. Add tomato puree and let all ingredients stew together for about 15 minutes (the flavor gets better the longer it stews). 
  4. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed then add basil and let simmer for a few minutes.
  5. Remove basil, add rice, and stir to coat the rice with the paste that’s developed. Add veg stock or water to submerge the rice 
  6. Bring rice to just simmer, then drop heat to low and cover.
  7. Check rice periodically, stirring to make sure it’s cooking evenly. This process usually takes around 20 minutes but it will depend on the rice and the amount of heat. For best results, allow rice to steam until it sticks to the bottom of the pan. (traditionally, jollof rice cooks like a paella and creates a crispy crust at the bottom that insulates the rice as it cooks and intensifies the flavors)

Share with us: Do you have a favorite holiday recipe? Tell us how you make it and what makes it special. Fill out the survey below or e-mail us at [email protected], and your response may be featured in a future Boston.com article.

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