Pineapple Jollof Rice w/ Fried Chicken and Fruit Plate.......... The new yum!

What do you usually do when you are bored? Nothing? I hope not. For me, I try to exercise the innovative part of me in the kitchen. It might not be a pioneering idea but I tend to do a little bit of modification. I was bored on a certain day and I decided to make the regular Jollof rice and fried chicken just because every "fine geh" (beautiful girl) deserves to eat deliciously and boy did this picture happen!!! It turned out I made PINEAPPLE JOLLOF RICE!

Ingredients:

• 16 Ounces of Uncle Ben's long grain rice (2 cups of white rice)
• Tomato stew (I'll put the directions below)
• Chicken (I used chicken thighs)
• Grounded habanero pepper (quantity depends on your spice tolerance)
• 1 Medium onion
• 1 Small onion
• 2 Bell peppers (also used for garnishing)
• 1 Cup of vegetable oil
• 2 Knorr cubes or stock cube
• One sprig of fresh thyme, parsley and rosemary leaves 
• One cup of dried blended crayfish/shrimps
• 1 Tbsp of salt (each for the rice and tomato stew)
• One tin of tomato paste
• 6 Fresh tomatoes
• Chicken broth (gotten from boiling the chicken)
• One pineapple cut in equal halves

Seasoned Fried Chicken:

Cooking directions:

• Place the chicken thighs in a pot; add diced onions, thyme and stock cubes.
• Add water to cover the chicken just a little above it.
• The chicken thighs are not the local hen hence, it is very easy to cook. This would take approximately 10 - 15 minutes. Using a pressure cooker would take even lesser time.
• When the chicken is ready, add some salt, cover the pot and leave to simmer for about 2 minutes. Adding salt at the beginning adds more cooking time to the chicken. 
• Place the chicken in a sieve and allow to drain. 
• Place your frying pan on a medium heat. After 3- 5 mins you pour your vegetable oil into the pan. The oil should be heated to 200 degree Celsius just because we already parboiled the chicken. Gently place the chicken into the heated oil and fry until golden brown and amazingly crunchy! 
• A few tips: Use tongs to turn the chicken a few times while it cooks. Most importantly, do not crowd the frying pan as this wouldn't allow the chicken fry from the inside.

Rice:

Cooking directions

• Add 5 cups of water into a pot and set on medium heat. Wash and add the rice. Allow to boil on medium heat for 20mins and then pour into a colander to rinse off the starch. Pour 1/2 cup of the chicken broth which was gotten from cooking the chicken into the pot and place back on the stove. Pour the rinsed off rice into the pot and cook for another 15mins. (Do not allow the rice to get soggy as you'd be banished from the Jollof kingdom)

• Note:  One way to verify if the rice is properly parboiled. If the rice makes a sound when you bite it is not yet OK to rinse it. If pressed between your thumb and index finger and it melts, then it is over-cooked. Somewhere between the first instance and the second is the safe point where everyone is happy with the rice.

Tomato stew:

• In a blender, combine the roughly chopped bell pepper, habanero and small onion and blend until finely smooth.
• Set a medium sized pot on a low heat and add vegetable oil. 
• While the oil is heated (takes about 3-5 mins), turn on your heat to medium and add the finely chopped onion and stir at intervals (between 10 - 15mins).
• Add the tomato paste, fresh thyme and rosemary leaves and stir for 3 minutes. Allow to cook for about 2 more minutes.
• Add the parboiled mixture and cook for about 10mins.
• Add crayfish, salt and stock cube.
• Taste for seasoning
• Cook on medium heat for about 10 mins 
• Your sauce is ready.

Pineapple:

• Cut the pineapple in two equal halves using a sharp knife. 
• Scoop the pineapple in the other half creating a boat like figure. 
• Using a manual juice squeezer, squeeze out the juice from the scooped pineapple and place in a cup.

Pineapple Jollof Rice:

• Pour the parboiled rice in a medium sized aluminum pan and add the tomato stew. Stir the mixture using a wooden cooking spoon until combined. Pour the pineapple juice into the mixture and place in the oven to bake at a temperature of 350 degree Celsius. 
• Allow to bake for about 20minutes. 
• The rice is ready when it is separated - not crispy!
• Remove from the oven and allow it to cool. 

Fruit Plate:

• You can use any fruit of your choice for this part. For mine. I used banana, pineapple, strawberry and blueberries. I usually try to add this to any meal of the day as regular fruit intake is very healthy and promotes good digestion. 

Serving:

• Scoop the amount of rice you desire to eat into the boat-like shaped pineapple and garnish using parsley and squared shape diced bell peppers. Place the seasoned fried chicken in a plate and garnish using lettuce and coleslaw mix (I bought from the store). Place your fruit plate on the table and VOILA! food is READY!!!!!!!!!!!

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Food quotes: One cannot think well, sleep well, love well if one has not dined well.

                                                                                                                                    Virginia Woolf

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