Riz Gras

Easy·30 min active + 45 min resting

Burkina Faso's national dish — rice slow-cooked one-pot with onions, tomatoes, and meat (beef, lamb, or chicken) in a generous amount of oil. The dish gets its name 'fat rice' from the large quantity of oil used; the rice absorbs the tomato-meat-oil broth.

Riz gras is widely cited as Burkina Faso's national dish — a French-influenced one-pot rice preparation. The 'fat' in the name refers to the generous oil that gives the dish its rich character.

Spoon up riz gras — orange-red rice grains, oil-glossy, dotted with melted tomato and chunks of fork-tender meat. Bite: the rice carries layered tomato-spice depth amplified by the generous oil; the meat is melt-in-mouth; the onion's caramelized sweetness shows through. With a piece of fried plantain on the side and a glass of bissap, this is the Burkinabé Sunday family lunch.

Generous oil is essential — distinguishes from jollof or other one-pot rice. Long tomato-onion cook before adding rice concentrates flavors. The oil coats each rice grain, preventing stickiness while adding flavor.

Variations

Riz gras with chicken. With fish. With smoked meat. Mossi regional variations.

On the Palate

Where Riz Gras sits in the Burkinabé flavor cloud

Cook to learn

Be generous with the oil and cook the tomato-onion base down hard before the rice goes in — the oil is what coats each grain so the rice stays separate and rich, which is the whole point of 'fat rice.'

Techniques

Simmering

Ingredients

Serves 6

5 + 3 tbsp pasteTomato

4 tbsp generousVegetable Oil

900 mlBeef Stock

to tasteSalt

1 tspBlack Pepper

How it's made

11 steps · 30 min active + 45 min waiting

1
4 min
Cube 700 g beef (or lamb) into 4-cm pieces; season with salt and pepper.
2
9 min
Brown in 4 tbsp oil (generous) 8 min.
3
9 min
Add 2 chopped onions + 4 minced garlic + 1 tbsp grated ginger; cook 8 min until very soft.
4
11 min
Add 5 chopped tomatoes + 3 tbsp tomato paste + 1-2 chopped scotch bonnets; cook 10 min until thick.
Watch out
Cook the tomato base down until it's thick and pulls from the pan — a watery base here means bland, pale rice.
5
1 min
Add 1 tsp salt + 2 bouillon cubes + 1 tsp thyme + 2 bay leaves + 1 tsp paprika.
6
2 min
Add 500 g rinsed long-grain rice; stir well to coat in oil.
Watch out
Stir the rinsed rice through the oily base until every grain glistens with oil before any stock goes in.
7
4 min
Add 900 ml stock; bring to boil.
8
25 min
Reduce to lowest heat; cover. Cook 22-25 min until rice is tender and liquid absorbed.
Watch out
Drop to the lowest heat and cover — 22-25 minutes untouched lets the rice drink the stock and cook through without going sticky.
9
9 min
Off heat; rest covered 8 min.
10
1 min
Fluff with a fork. Garnish with parsley.
11
3 min
Serve hot with: fried plantain, salad, or hard-boiled eggs.