Toolo Beef Jollof Rice

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Jollof rice is a very popular West African rice dish which originated from the Wolof people of Senegal. It soon gained popularity in so many West African countries such as Nigeria and Ghana to name a few. Jollof rice has tomato , pepper and onions its base and it is cook to the taste and skill of the cook.  Toolo beef on the other hand is Ghanaian cured lamb or salted beef that usually goes well with jollof rice. I decided to make a Nigerian party style jollof rice cooked with Ghanaian toolo beef. It is fluffy and very delicious rice dish that would please any crowd.

• Soak the cured lamb  in lots of water for about 4 hours, dump the water and rinse the meat. Then soak again in water for another 4 hours. This will help get rid of the salt. Or cook in a large pot of water, dump the water multiple times when it comes to a boil until it is no longer salty.
• The ensure that it is no longer salty, I like to cook it in a large pot of water after soaking it for 8 hours. Once it comes to a boil, I would taste the water to get an idea of the salt level. If not too salty (it is usually not salty at this point because the salt moved out of the meat to the water through a process known as osmosis), I would rinse the meat one last time and start the proper cooking of the meat.
• After rinsing the lamb, add 1 cup water, some chopped onions, 1 - 2 seasoning cubes and rosemary leaves, you can also use any seasoning of your choice; cover to cook for at least 1 hour or until done. Check the meat once in a while and add water as needed to prevent it from burning.
• Once lamb is done, add more water to create meat stock and cook for about 10 - 20 minutes if there is no stock in the pan. Then separate the meat from the stock and allow the meat to cool. Cut lamb into little bit sizes/chunks once it cools.
• Blend tomatoes, pepper and onion. Pour the blend into a pan, add 2 - 3 bay leaves and cook over low heat, uncovered until most of the moisture evaporates. While cooking, do not stir the mixture if you do not want to baby sit it. Once stirred, it has to be stirred frequently otherwise, it will burn. But if left alone to cook down, it does not burn. This part can be done when soaking the meat to get rid of the salt or in advance to shorten the cooking time of the jollof rice.
• Parboil or soak rice in hot water for about 5 minutes. Rinse until water runs clear then set aside to drain.
• Heat up 2 cups vegetable oil. Once hot enough, fry the cut cooked lamb to your satisfaction. Then remove the fried lamb from the oil because the oil would be used to fry the tomato blend.
• Once the tomato blend has cooked down (it should be ready before you start cooking the rice), add in the onion (chopped)to the hot oil and fry until it is translucent then add the tomato blend and fry. This would not take a long time to be properly fried because there is not a lot of moisture left in the tomato blend. It usually takes about 20 - 30 minutes. Add seasoning cubes, ginger powder, curry powder, smoked paprika and salt to taste (you can use any spice or herbs of your choice).
• Once it looks glossy, (you can scoop out some of the sauce if it more than needed for the rice. Save it later for another jollof rice or quick stew. 4 -5 cups of the cooked sauce would be enough for the jollof rice) add the washed rice and fried lamb, stir to combine add some meat stock and enough to moisten it ( look wet) but not submerged in fluid. Check for salt and add as needed. Cover the pot with foil to trap in the steam and cook over  low heat for about 30 minutes or more. The steam will help cook the rice so you don't need a lot of water to cook the rice.
• After 30 minutes, open the pot and stir the rice. If not soft to your satisfaction, add a little bit of water or stock, cover and cook for a few more minutes (10 - 15 minutes) or until the moisture dries up. Then turn off the heat and let it sit untouched (still covered with the foil) for about 30 minutes the steam will continue to cook the rice.
• Once done, fluff your jollof rice and Enjoy!

Ingredients:  

1 lb cured lamb (toolo beef) 

4 cups long grain rice  

10 Tomatoes

 2-3 Bell Peppers 

3 Habanero Peppers  (use pepper to your taste)

2 Large Onions (blend 1 with the tomatoes and use the other one to cook meat and fry sauce)

2 cups Olive Oil or any Vegetable Oil of choice  

3 Bay Leaves 

4 Seasoning Cubes 

1 tbsp Ginger Powder  

1 tsp Curry Powder   

1 tsp Rosemary Leaves  

2 tbsp Smoked paprika

Salt to taste