American multinational tech giant, Google is today, celebrating Jollof rice with a doodle by dedicating their homepage to the dish on Friday.
Google’s icon has also changed with a clickable button that demonstrates in less than 2 minutes the preparation process.
Jollof rice is a popular delicacy and one of the favourite dishes among West Africans, typically made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables and meat in a single pot. However, the ingredients and preparation methods vary across different regions and ethnic groups.
Despite not being ‘World Jollof Day’ Google contracted the doodle design to Haneefah Adam, a content creator and visual artist to create an amazing doodle of Jollof rice.
The stop-motion animation video displays a side-by-step guide on how to prepare Jollof rice and it’s no surprise Senegalese jazz artist, Hervé Samb’s music was chosen as the background song of the video seeing the origin of Jollof can be traced to Senegal.
In a post monitored on its Website, Google said:
“Today’s Doodle celebrates jollof rice, a quintessential West African dish simmered in reduced tomatoes, onions, peppers and regional spices. Nigeria-based guest artist Haneefah Adam created the artwork and Senegalese jazz musician, Hervé Samb created the soundtrack.
“On this day each year, rice farmers plant and reap a bountiful harvest, and cooks across West Africa prepare to make fresh jollof. Also known as benachin and thieboudienne, jollof rice is a one-pot meal that originated from the Wolof tribe in the 14th century. The Wolof Empire, ruling parts of modern-day Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania, popularized jollof throughout West Africa.
“Although jollof rice was traditionally cooked with fish for dinner, Africans today also enjoy this savory dish for breakfast and lunch, and often substitute fish with chicken, beef or goat.
“Each country has added its own spin to the recipe and West Africans engage in humorous banter over who makes the best jollof. These friendly rivalries, known as the “Jollof Wars,” have become an African cultural phenomenon.
“Nigerians and Ghanaians are particularly competitive over who makes the best jollof — and for good reason. There are distinct differences between the two cooking styles. For example, Nigerians use long-grain rice that absorbs more spices, while Ghanaians use basmati rice with a more aromatic flavor.
“Who ultimately makes the best jollof? No one”
Read also:
Cardi B Seriously Wants to Be Nigerian
Google Celebrates Jollof Rice with a Doodle (video)