Festival is the slightly-sweet cousin of fried dumpling, made with cornmeal for a little texture and a touch of sugar and vanilla. You'll find it alongside jerk chicken, escovitch fish and fried fish all across Jamaica — especially at the beach.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cornmeal
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)
- ~⅓ cup water
- Oil for frying
Method
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and spice.
- Stir in the vanilla and add water a little at a time until a firm, smooth (not sticky) dough comes together. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
- Divide into 8 pieces. Roll each between your palms into a smooth sausage shape about 4 inches long.
- Heat about 2 inches of oil to medium (around 170°C/340°F). Fry the festivals in batches, turning often, for 5–7 minutes until deep golden and cooked through. Frying too hot will brown the outside before the middle cooks.
- Drain on paper towels and serve warm.
🍳 Get it right
Medium heat is everything. If they brown too fast, the centre stays doughy. A test piece first helps you dial in the oil temperature.