What it is
Rice cooked in coconut milk instead of plain stock, which leaves it faintly sweet and richer than white rice. It is made either plain and white or in a tomato-based version that looks like jollof but tastes of coconut.
Key ingredients
- Long grain rice
- Coconut milk
- Onions
- Peppers
- Tomatoes (in the red version)
- Thyme
- Curry powder
- Meat or chicken stock
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten as a main dish with grilled or fried fish, chicken or pepper sauce, and often with fried plantain.
Cultural significance
Coconut rice is strongest in the coastal south and south west, where coconut palms grow along the shoreline and coconut milk was a household ingredient long before it was tinned. It reads as a treat rather than an everyday pot, and often appears when a cook wants to serve something familiar but slightly different from jollof.
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