SHOPPING LIST: Cooking Skills: Rice 2, Chapter 6 (Jollof and West African Rice)

Specialist items: easy-cook (parboiled) long-grain rice is in every supermarket. Scotch bonnet and ripe plantain are at larger supermarkets and Caribbean or African grocers; a mild red chilli is a fair substitute for the scotch bonnet.

Basic jollof rice (2 portions)
[ ] 150 g easy-cook (parboiled) long-grain rice
[ ] 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
[ ] 1 onion, half roughly chopped and half sliced
[ ] 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
[ ] 1 tbsp tomato purée
[ ] 1 slice of scotch bonnet or 1 mild red chilli (optional)
[ ] 2 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil
[ ] 1 tsp curry powder
[ ] 1 tsp dried thyme
[ ] 1 bay leaf
[ ] 175 ml hot reduced-salt stock

Party jollof (2 portions)
[ ] 150 g easy-cook (parboiled) long-grain rice
[ ] 1 red pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
[ ] 1 onion, half roughly chopped and half sliced
[ ] 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
[ ] 1 tbsp tomato purée
[ ] 1 slice of scotch bonnet or 1 mild red chilli (optional)
[ ] 2 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil
[ ] 1 tsp curry powder
[ ] 1 tsp dried thyme
[ ] 1 bay leaf
[ ] 175 ml hot reduced-salt stock
[ ] ½ tsp smoked paprika
[ ] 1 tsp butter

Jollof with chicken and plantain (2 portions)
[ ] 150 g easy-cook rice and the jollof sauce from the basic recipe (all the ingredients above)
[ ] 250 g chicken thighs, skin on
[ ] 1 tsp curry powder
[ ] 1 tsp oil
[ ] 1 ripe (yellow-black) plantain, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
[ ] 1 tsp oil, for the plantain

Vegetable jollof (2 portions)
[ ] 150 g easy-cook rice and the jollof sauce from the basic recipe (all the ingredients above)
[ ] 1 carrot, finely diced
[ ] 60 g green beans, cut into 1 cm pieces
[ ] 60 g frozen peas

For the experiments
[ ] Three extra small batches: 75 g easy-cook rice each, and a small batch of ordinary long-grain
[ ] Foil