Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (2024)

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This Jamaican Festival recipe is a homemade version of the popular Jamaican snack. Made with a few simple ingredients, this delicious fried sweet dough is the perfect side dish for your favorite Jamaican recipes.

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (1)

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When I say festival, I don’t mean a party. But then again, it’s always a party when I show up with my homemade festival! Ha! All jokes aside, this Jamaican festival recipe is the truth and I worked on it to make sure it was as delicious as the ones I had as a child.

Jamaican festival is a sweet fried dough made with cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and milk. The dough comes together quite easily and all you have to do is deep fry it. It goes well with some of my favorite Jamaican recipes like rasta pasta, jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, or escovitch fish.

How to make Jamaican Festival

First, gather your ingredients. You’ll want to start heating a heavy bottom pot of oil that has at least 3 inches of oil in it or use a deep fryer if you have one. Turn the heat over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (2)

Prepare your festival dough by adding the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and stirring to combine.

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (3)

Add the vanilla extract and milk and stir until the dough comes together. Then use your hands to lightly form the mixture into a ball.

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Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into long oval shapes. Make about 12 dumplings.

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Once the oil has reached the temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, fry the dough on all sides, until golden brown. This should take about 4-6 minutes.

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Remove dough and drain off any excess grease.

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Serve and enjoy.

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What does festival taste like?

Festival is like a combination of sweet cornbread and hushpuppies mixed together. It’s light and fluffy and sweetened to perfection.

Notes on Jamaican Festival

  • Make sure your oil is set to the proper temperature for deep frying. I use a thermometer to ensure my oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Festival is best eaten when it’s made. The dough can be made a day ahead.
  • The amount of milk added may depend on the brand of flour used. You may need a little more or a little less. Slowly stir in the milk until the flour is moistened and can easily form into a ball of dough.
  • I don’t recommend making festival in an air fryer. I tried and it was not as good.

Looking for other Jamaican recipes? Try these out:

  • Jamaican Fried Dumpling
  • Oxtail
  • Curry Chicken
  • Curry Goat
  • Brown Stew Chicken

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (9)

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4.88 from 16 votes

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe

This Jamaican Festival recipe is a homemade version of the popular Jamaican snack. Made with a few simple ingredients, this delicious fried sweet dough is the perfect side dish for your favorite Jamaican recipes.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Caribbean

Keyword jamaican festival, jamaican festival recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 minutes minutes

Total Time 16 minutes minutes

Servings 12 dumplings

Calories 117kcal

Author Tanya

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup fine cornmeal
  • 6 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup milk a little less or more may be needed, see notes
  • Oil for deep frying*

Instructions

  • Heat a heavy bottom pot of oil that has at least 3 inches of oil in it or use a deep fryer if you have one. Turn the heat over medium heat until the temperature reaches 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

  • Add the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine.

  • Add the vanilla extract and milk and stir until the dough comes together. Then use your hands to lightly form the mixture into a ball.

  • Pinch off pieces of dough and roll them into long oval shapes. Make about 12 dumplings.

  • Once the oil has reached the temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit, fry the dough on all sides, until golden brown. This should take about 4-6 minutes.

  • Remove dough and drain off any excess grease. Serve and enjoy.

Notes

  • Make sure your oil is set to the proper temperature for deep frying. I use a thermometer to ensure my oil is at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Festival is best eaten when it’s made. The dough can be made a day ahead.
  • The amount of milk added may depend on the brand of flour used. You may need a little more or a little less. Slowly stir in the milk until the flour is moistened and can easily form into a ball of dough.
  • I don’t recommend making festival in an air fryer. I tried and it was not as good.

Nutrition

Calories: 117kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 1mg

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Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are Jamaican dumplings made of? ›

The dumplings are typically made of all-purpose flour, though sometimes cornmeal is added. Shaping them is a fun and quick project that kids can take part in too.

What is the difference between dumpling and festival? ›

The main thing that distinguishes Jamaican festival dumplings from fried dumplings is cornmeal. Whilst fried dumpling is plain flour mixed with salt and water, festival dumpling mix flour and yellow cornmeal. The cornmeal makes the festival dumplings crispy on the outside, unlike the softer outsider of fried dumplings.

What is Jamaican festival made of? ›

It is a dough made with wheat flour, Cornmeal, baking powder, salt, milk powder unflavored milk or evaporated milk, sugar and water, then fried in a neutral cooking oil and served hot. The finished festival should be crispy on the outside while soft and fluffy on the inside.

Why are my Jamaican dumplings hard? ›

If you are using a high-protein flour, such as bread flour, the dumplings may be tough. Using a lower-protein flour, such as all-purpose or cake flour, can help to make the dumplings softer and more tender. Overworking the dough: If you knead the dough too much or handle it too much, it can become tough.

Why do Jamaicans not eat pork? ›

Seventh Day Adventists and some other Sabbath keepers don't eat it. They say it is forbidden by God, which they say is in the Bible. Rastafarians also have this belief. Some ministers of religion interpret it that because the law is in the Old Testament it is meant only for Jews so therefore Christians can eat it.

What are the 3 components of dumplings? ›

What are dumplings made of? The dumpling dough is made of three main ingredients: flour, water and salt. But which flour you use depends on which dumpling you want to make.

What is a festival in Jamaican food? ›

Jamaican festival is a sweet fried dough made with cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, vanilla extract, and milk. The dough comes together quite easily and all you have to do is deep fry it. It goes well with some of my favorite Jamaican recipes like rasta pasta, jerk chicken, ackee and saltfish, or escovitch fish.

Are dumplings sweet or savory? ›

Dumplings are made of a dough wrapper and meat, seafood, or vegetable filling. Usually, the wrappers are translucent, but sometimes the wrappers are other colors like green or orange. They come in many shapes and sizes and may be stuffed with a variety of savory or sweet fillings like: Beef.

What is the dumpling festival tradition? ›

A notable part of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival is making and eating zongzi, also known as sticky rice dumplings, with family members and friends. People traditionally make zongzi by wrapping glutinous rice and fillings in leaves of reed or bamboo, forming a pyramid shape.

What is the history of the Jamaican dumpling festival? ›

The origins of festival come from the period in the 18th century when enslaved Africans in Jamaica were given a weekly ration of both cornmeal and salted fish. This led to the creation of a variety of cornmeal-based dishes -- and the fact they're typically served alongside fish.

What is Bammy in Jamaica? ›

Bammy is a traditional Jamaican cassava flatbread descended from the simple flatbread eaten by the Arawaks, Jamaica's original inhabitants. Today, it is produced in many rural communities and sold in stores and by street vendors in Jamaica and abroad.

What are the Jamaican festivals called? ›

For music events, look out for Rebel Salute early in the year, Reggae Sumfest during the summer, and Reggae Sunsplash as the year ends. For foodie events, there's the Kingston Curry Festival in the spring, Ocho Rios Seafood Festival in the summer, and the Jamaica Rum Festival in February/March.

How do you eat Jamaican dumplings? ›

Jamaican fried dumplings can be eaten as and served alongside traditional savory dishes. I love serving mine with Vegan Ackee and Saltfish, Jerk Tofu and pretty much any other savoury dish as a side. You can also serve them with hot sauce, ketchup, or chutney. Another option is to make them sweet.

How to make dumplings more juicy? ›

Hand-mincing meat and adding more pork belly results in the juiciest dumplings. Traditionally, some Chinese cuisine uses hand minced meat for their dishes. For example, lots of dim sum items like siu mai, pork buns, beef meatball, and more use hand minced meat to control the texture and fat content of the dish!

What are traditional dumplings made of? ›

Dumpling is a broad class of dishes that consist of pieces of cooked dough (made from a variety of starchy sources), often wrapped around a filling. The dough can be based on bread, wheat or other flours, or potatoes, and it may be filled with meat, fish, tofu, cheese, vegetables, or a combination.

What are dumplings usually made of? ›

Dumplings are most commonly formed from flour or meal bound with egg and then simmered in water or gravy stock until they take on a light cakey texture. Many recipes call for herbs, onions, grated cheese, or chopped meat to be rolled into the dough before cooking.

What are original dumplings made of? ›

The Chinese had figured out how to grind flour about 300 years earlier, which led to noodles and, eventually, dumplings. Some say that the first dumplings were made with lamb and pepper, but since then, they have adapted. Most dumplings now have a pork mixture as their filling.

Where do Jamaican dumplings come from? ›

Fried dumplings have their origins in Jamaican colonization and slavery, where workers would pack fried biscuits to take with them on long journeys.

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