Pilau is to East Africa what jollof is to West Africa; here are the fun facts

While it is usually accused more than any other food of causing people to gain weight, rice is still one of the most popular dishes in Africa, among children and adults alike. Like any dish, rice is cooked in several different ways to achieve different kinds of flavors, textures and tastes.

One of the most popular rice-based dishes is pilau or Jollof, depending on which part of Africa you come from. These two similar dishes, very well-known and loved all along the equator and general Sub-Saharan Africa, are very aromatic, colorful, dramatic rice-based dishes that people enjoy and different kinds of celebrations.

The story of Jollof

Jollof Pulse

Jollof rice is arguably the biggest common denominator in West African countries when it comes to food. There is Nigerian Jollof, Ghanian Jollof, Senegalese Jollof, and so on.

It is said to have originated from a small Senegalese island in the 1800s.

As it turns out, Jollof is another of many accidental inventions that have come to be a part of our everyday lives, just like potato chips, penicillin, cornflakes, and so on.

The story goes that there was a chef of old called Penda Mbaye, whose signature dish – a one-pot meal of barley, fish, and vegetables faced an imminent threat due to a shortage of barley in Senegal in the 1800s. So in the absence of barley, Mbaye is said to have experimented with rice to see what she would achieve.

The outcome was the present-day jollof, a delicious dish that went on to become Senegal’s national dish. Jollof later gained popularity across West Africa, with minor alterations to Madame Penda’s initial recipe.

The dish is typically made with long-grain rice, tomatoes, onions, spices, vegetables and meat in a single pot, although its ingredients and preparation methods vary across different regions.

The story of pilau

Pilau Pulse

Back home here in Uganda and East Africa, few celebrations worth the name will be complete without pilau. Wedding, Christmas, and most popularly, Eid all come with pilau. Like jollof, pilau is a dish of rice mixed with spices, meats and vegetables.

However, there is reason to believe that East Africans and West Africans created this signature dish separately, with none copying the other.

Pilau Pulse

Pilau is believed to be a creation of the Swahili people of East Africa along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The authenticity may be a subject for debate, but what is undisputed is the influence of the 15^th Century sea traders and early settlers in the Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, and Lamu, who introduced rice and exotic spices from the far-flung Indian and Persian destinations. Their interactions with the local residents would give rise to a rich Swahili culture, hallmarked by exotic cuisine, with pilau at its apex.

Pilau and jollof are like twins living separately, one in East Africa and the other is West Africa. Except that they are not twins at all. They are not even blood sisters.

They are doppelgangers to each other, they are both superstars in their regions but they have never met. But maybe one day they will meet and come up with a collabo.