First of all, prepare all your ingredients beforehand. 

• Puree your tomatoes, red bell pepper and your scotch bonnet together until smooth. 
• Dice your onions very well and put them nearby. 
• Mince your garlic and ginger. 
• Preparing everything in advance will make the actual cooking much easier.

Step 2: Boil the Spaghetti

Place the water, salt and bring it to the boil with the help of large pot. When the water is boiling add your spaghetti and cook until the spaghetti is still hard in the middle but cooked through. This will take about 8-10 minutes. Subsequently, discard the water and, voila, there lies your spaghetti.

Step 3: Make the Jollof Sauce

To a large pan or pot on the fire, add your vegetable oil and heat it up until it is slightly hot on medium heat. Sauté the chopped onions and cook until they reach a somewhat clear golden colour. This should take about 2-3 minutes, after which, each participant will be asked to come up with a product.

• First, sauté minced garlic and ginger for another minute, while stirring it through the pan. Also, make sure that you do not over cook the garlic.
• Next, add the tomato paste and combined all the ingredients and fry for a few 5 minutes. This step can be important because it aids in getting ride of a raw taste from the paste and enhancing the taste of the sauce.

Lastly, when the tomato paste is well fried, add the post blended tomato, bell pepper and scotch bonnet mixture. Mix everything together and let the liquid come to a cooking point and then let it cook for about 10-15minutes stirring occasionally. The sauce should thicken and reduce if one has followed the recipe correctly to this stage – the meat should be well browned.

Step 4: Season the Sauce

While the sauce is simmering, add your spices: The spices include curry powder, thyme black pepper, paprika and the seasoning cubes. Use a spoon to mix in the spices into the sauce and leave it for further 5 minutes for the sauce to be well incorporated.

If the sauce gets too thick you may add a little of the chicken broth or water to dilute it.

Here you can also add protein of your preference. If you’re using pre-cooked chicken, beef, or fish this is when you add it to your sauce. Allow the protein to cook on the sauce for a few minutes so that it may soak up all the flavor. If you are using raw protein add it to the sauce once the protein is done cooking.

Step 6: Add the Spaghetti into the Sauce

After the sauce has been boiled and seasoned to your choice reduce the heat to low. Next time pour the pre-cooked spaghetti into the sauce and ensure you stir it gently until every spaghetti is coated in the jollof sauce.

If for some reason it starts to appear too dry add more chicken broth or water to moisten it again. Cover the pan and let the spaghetti stew in the sauce for approximately 5-7 min for the sauce to marin.

Step 7: Garnish and Serve

To enrich the flavor of your spaghetti jollof you can add little vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, pepper and anything of that nature. Add chopped carrots and/or peas or green beans 5 min before the end of the cooking time so that the stew looks very appealing on the plate.

When everything is well mixed, taste for seasoning and correct you wish to. That is it your spaghetti jollof is almost done, we only wait for it to be ready before serving. You can on a final touch add more fresh vegetables, or complement it with fried plantains or even have it with a simple green salad.

Encouragement for Beginners

It can be of sometime overwhelming to attempt preparing a new dish or using a new cooking method. But please bear in mind that every great cook begins from somewhere; with initial and easy methods. The Kitchen is not a show about people getting things right, it’s a show about people learning new things. Thus, if you experience a lack of confidence in writing, you are perfectly allowed to make a mistake.

A word of advice, spaghetti jollof is a rather tolerant dish. If it is too thick, add a little water or broth your sauce should be thick and savory. If they turn out too thin allow them to simmer for a few more minutes. This is the way you will learn to adapt the recipes, as you gain your experience in the process. And if something doesn’t come out perfect at the end of it, that is fine – you have made something with your own two hands and that is something to be impressed with.

Do not underestimate yourself especially when you are being taught something that you don’t know. It went on to say that one did not have to make the perfect looking food, nor did it have to be the most delicious. A Food is a type of provision for the body, that embosses love and adds pleasure to life. With every food you cook you feel more confident and have become an expert at it. Someday you will wake up and notice how much you have achieved.

Tips for Success

1. Don’t rush the sauce: With any jollof dish be it rice or spaghetti, the sauce is always the key. You should take time while frying your tomato paste and your blended mixture. That way, the opportunity to properly cook the sauce will yield deeper flavours.
2. Taste as you go: It’s okay to taste the food while you are cooking. Make as many alterations to the seasoning of your food as would be required. Just like some people prefer their foods spicy while others prefer a little spice when preparing one ’s jollof, it is recommendable to do it in your own way.
3. Use quality ingredients: Raw tomatoes and bell peppers are finer as compared to canned ones, and hence should be used fresh. Yes, and using a good quality broth can enhance your dish further than you imagined it could be.

Final Thoughts

Preparation of spaghetti jollof is a great process that also adds daring taste and homeliness to the dining. Whether one is preparing it for his/her own consumption or preparing for visitors, it’s a meal that will draw applause. Most importantly, the idea that out of some small raw materials, you are able to make a good meal and this should make you proud.

Do not let the fear and doubt bring you down in the kitchen and in the rest of your life. Always challenge yourself, and you will just keep developing even better. Understanding that each meal is a new experience and a good chance to become better it is high time to enjoy the process.

Happy cooking!