• Place blended tomatoes, passata and bay leaves in a medium sized heavy based pot. Simmer mixture into a paste. Once done transfer into another bowl.
• Blend ginger, onion and garlic into a paste. Add a splash of water to help with blending.
• In the same pot used for simmering the tomatoes, heat up the oil until sizzling hot. Add the onion/ garlic/ ginger blend, use a splash of water to deglaze the pot if needed. Fry until it looks like breadcrumbs then add 1 tablespoon of Aftrad Village Kitchen 10 SpiceBlend. Stir for about a minute to release the oils from the spices. Now add the tomato paste, stir and fry for about 5 minutes, then add the other spoon of Aftrad Village Kitchen 10 spice blend, add salt to taste fry for another 5minutes. Ensure seasoning is a little overpowering at this stage.
• Wash the rice in a colander until the water runs out clear. Add the washed rice to the stew, mix well and let it fry for 3minutes. At this point the rice should be well coated with the stew but if you find the stew to be extra, add 100g of washed rice and stir let if fry for a minute. Add the boiling water, check seasoning and add a bit of salt to taste if needed. Cover and let all the water simmer into the rice.
• Now cover rice with two layers of baking sheet before the pot lid. Lower the heat, preferably move to the smallest hob and on very low heat. Let the steam cook the rice. Only stir with a fork about30 minutes into the cooking time. Let the rice cook until soft.

SERVE:

• Serve Jollof rice with your favourite meat such as kebabs, garnish Jollof with chopped with coriander, onions, spring onions and vine tomatoes.