The secret to party-style Jollof rice

There is a sound that defines a Nigerian celebration: the soft scrape of a wooden spoon against a heavy pot of jollof rice, and the smell of slightly charred bottom — the bottom-pot — drifting through the kitchen.

Party jollof is not the same dish you would cook on a Tuesday evening. It is bolder, smokier and built in layers, and almost every step is about coaxing more flavour into the grain.

Start with the base. Roast your tomatoes, red peppers and scotch bonnets until the skins blister, then blitz them with onion into a smooth purée. Reduce that purée hard in oil — it should look thick, glossy and just slightly darker before you add stock.

Use parboiled long-grain rice. The grain has been steamed before drying, which means it stays separated under long cooking and absorbs flavour without turning to porridge.

Cover the pot. Lower the heat to the smallest flame your hob will hold. Do not stir. The rice at the bottom will catch and create the charred crust — leave it. After thirty minutes, turn off the heat and let the pot sit, lid on, for ten more minutes.

Fluff gently, taste, and serve with fried plantain and pepper stew chicken. Send the leftover bottom-pot to whoever you love most.