Before cooking Nigerian Jollof Ric Parboil(precook) the Rice and set aside..Parboiling the rice, helps to start the cooking process and gets rid of the excess starch in the rice, that usually makes the rice grains to clump together (a.k.a Soggy rice) Cook and fry/grill your meat (beef/chicken/turkey)... and set aside the stock

First, prepare a small stew or sauce. Do this by blending the fresh tomatoes and peppers together;then dry out excess liquid by boiling in a pot for few minutes...if you already have tomato stew, you can skip this step. Then, Place a pot on heat, add some oil, add chopped onions, fry a bit and then add the blended tomatoes & pepper mix, fry for about 10 minutes and then add the tomato puree.      Cook until the tomato loses its sour taste and the oil begin to rise to the top.

This is another important step in cooking Nigerian Jollof Rice. If the stock isn't hot enough before adding the precooked(parboiled) Rice, the rice will soak up the cold water, become soggy and even get burnt before it is done..we don't want that right

Next, add the Rice and mix thoroughly; the liquid in the pot should  be at the same level as the rice in the pot...you  can add more water if the meat or chicken stock isn't enough.    Cover the pot and leave the rice to cook on low to medium heat. High heat will burn the rice before it is well cooked.

If you're using bay leaves, just drop it on the rice before covering the pot. When the liquid in the rice is almost dried, add the ground crayfish (this is optional) and the remaining stew to the top (don't touch the rice)...cover the pot  and simmer until there is no more liquid in the rice.... Now mix thoroughly... and your Nigerian Jollof Rice is Ready.