It's all about the jollof...

Earlier this week, I noticed an article posted in one of the expat forums on Facebook. As it made me smile and shake my head, I thought it would be a good topic for this blog post. I did some research and below is the link to my favorite article on the subject.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/jamie-olivers-version-of-jollof-rice-does-not-go-down-well-with-west-africans-9829847.html

Ghanaians are VERY proud of their country, their heritage, their customs, and, arguably, most proud of their food. While we have sampled bits of different foods: fufu, banku, tilapia, etc, our favorite is, without question, jollof. Jollof is a rice dish prepared with tomatoes and spices and I'm sure several secret ingredients. It's reddish orange in color and definitely has a kick to it.

The funniest part about jollof is that in America it would be a side dish. Here, it's the main course. The accompaniment, usually a protein, is a total afterthought. In the states it would be "I'd like the chicken jollof please". In Ghana, it's more like "I'll take the jollof... and.... I guess, chicken." You probably think I'm exaggerating but I've been to lunch with a few Ghanaians and we've ordered jollof. Here are a couple of examples of how a conversation goes with respect to "jollof analysis":

Patron: "How's the jollof today?"
Server: "It is nice."
Patron: (serious look) "is it?"

Patron: "Is the jollof ready?"
Server: "yes, madam"
Patron: "are you certain?"

These people don't mess around when it comes to jollof. We have actually been invited/requested to learn to make jollof properly. We offered to have Dorothy over to do the teaching and she laughed and said we should come to her place because we probably do not have all the things needed to make it. Okay then, your place it is.

Our first lesson has yet to be scheduled but you can bet it will be a heck of a story once we've been correctly trained on the intricacies of jollof creation. You better believe we won't be following Mr. Jamie Oliver's recipe.