A one-pot dish of rice cooked in a tomato and pepper-based sauce with onion and stock, seasoned with a blend of West African spices and often served with chicken, beef or fish. Food historians trace its roots to Wolof cooking in the Senegambia region, from which its name likely derives, with rice-and-sauce cookery spreading east along the coast into what are now Ghana, Nigeria and beyond. Which country cooks the definitive version is a long-running, good-natured argument across West Africa, most visibly between Nigeria and Ghana. The modern tomato-based version is probably no earlier than the nineteenth century, because its New World tomatoes, peppers, Indian curry powder and Asian rice varieties are not known to have been grown or imported in the region before then, even though the Wolof cooking it descends from is far older.
Facts
Partially Attested
Origin Period, From (Year)Sourced to the subject's own accountThe cited Wikipedia article says the use of New World tomatoes, tomato paste, capsicum peppers, Indian curry powder and Asian rice varieties may limit the origin of the current dish to no earlier than the 19th century, so 1801 is the earliest year it supports for the current dish. The Jolof Empire, dated from around the 12th century, is the root tradition of the name and the cooking, not the date of the dish. Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own accountSenegambia (Wolof / Jolof Empire, West Africa) 1 FAQs
How old is the current jollof rice recipe?
The current recipe may date only to the 19th century, because of its New World and imported ingredients.
It may be fairly recent. The dish as it is cooked now uses New World tomatoes, tomato paste and capsicum peppers, Indian curry powder, Mediterranean thyme and Asian rice varieties. These may limit the origin of the current dish to no earlier than the 19th century, as there is no evidence of those ingredients being locally cultivated or imported before then.
Connections
Associated With
Thieboudienne, Dishes Jollof rice is widely regarded as a derivative of thieboudienne: usually made with meat rather than fish, with the rice mixed into the other ingredients rather than served under a fish steak.
Source Thieboudienne (Wikipedia)
Expresses Tradition
Source Larousse Gastronomique
In Cuisine
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Uses Ingredient
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Jollof Rice (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHistory and origin
The Jolof or Wolof Empire was a confederacy state that ruled parts of West Africa situated in modern-day Senegal, Mali, The Gambia and Mauritania from around the 12th century
History and origin, New World ingredient constraint
The use of New World tomatoes, tomato paste, capsicum peppers (bell, chili, paprika), Indian curry powder, Mediterranean thyme, and Asian rice varieties, may limit the origin of the current dish to no earlier than the 19th century, there being no evidence of the ingredients being locally cultivated or imported before this period.
View the Source The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014
Wikidata: Jollof Rice
Wikidata Q816663, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009Expresses Tradition: Spice Trade Traditions, s.v. Jollof Rice
Thieboudienne (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Thieboudienne, History and originQuote, Associated With: Thieboudienne, History and origin
The popular West African dish known as jollof is thought to have originated from thieboudienne, but is usually made with meat rather than fish, and the rice is mixed into the other ingredients.
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