3cupsjasmine riceor other long-grain rice. See Note 3
5cupswater
1teaspoonsalt
3teaspoonschicken bouillon powdersubstitute with 3 small Maggi seasoning cubes or 1 large Maggi crevette (crayfish Maggi). All can be gotten from African stores
1/2teaspoonground white pepper
2cupssmoked fishbones removed. Substitute with dried fish. Smoked fish and dried fish can be gotten from African stores.
1habanero pepper
Instructions
Place the crayfish into a blender and pulse so the crayfish is broken down. Do not grind it into a powder. Just break it down a little bit.
Blend the garlic cloves into a paste.
Place a pot (preferably non-stick) on high heat and pour in the palm oil. Let it heat up for about 3 minutes then add the chopped onions. Stir and saute until translucent. About 2 minutes.
Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot and let it cook while stirring from time to time until it shrinks. About 7 minutes. (While the tomato cooks, wash the rice and set aside)
Add the blended garlic to the pot and stir so it releases its aroma.
Add the crayfish to the pot and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add the washed rice into the pot and stir so everything is incorporated.
Add in 5 cups of water, the 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder and half teaspoon of white pepper. Stir to combine.
Add the smoked fish and whole habanero pepper. (Note:If you want the rice spicy, cut the habanero pepper in half before adding it to the pot. I add it whole because my kids can't tolerate so much heat. I press the whole cooked habanero pepper into my plate of rice to make it spicy).
Cover the pot and turn down the heat to low. Let it cook for 40 minutes then turn off the heat and let it rest covered for 5 minutes.
Open the pot, fluff the rice with a forkand serve warm.
Notes
1. Crayfish is dried shrimp from West Africa. I often get it from African stores. You can buy crayfish either whole or ground. I prefer getting it still whole so I can be sure it is not bad.2. Red palm oil is a natural oil gotten from palm nuts. It is mostly locally produced, greatly used in West African cooking and highly nutritious. Red palm oil can be gotten from African stores or amazon.com.3. I used jasmine rice because I love the flavor but you could use another long grain rice you like. You may need to adjust the quantity of water added to the rice depending on the rice you choose.4. Watch the recipe video so I can walk you through how to make Njanga Rice5. Nutritional information is an estimate.