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.

Jamaican Festival (Sweet Dumpling) Recipe (4)

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's the difference between dumpling and festival? ›

The difference is that festivals contain a noticeable amount of cornmeal, sugar, and cinnamon. Traditional fried dumplings can be made with or without cornmeal but do not contain sugar or cinnamon. Festival is usually served with spicy fish, jerk pork or chicken, and other spicy meat dishes.

What is the 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.

What are the ingredients in the Grace festival mix? ›

Enriched Wheat Flour (Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Sugar, Fructose, Yellow Corn Meal, Leavening Agents (Monocalcium Phosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt.

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? ›

Dumplings are made from a simple dough consisting of all-purpose flour, water, and salt. The shaped dumplings are either fried in a pan until golden brown or boiled in a soup.

Are dumplings sweet or savory? ›

They can be both savoury and sweet, and may be boiled, steamed and fried - the choice is yours! Known as jiaozi to the Chinese or gyoza to the Japanese - the dumpling is a popular Asian cuisine to many, regularly consumed and enjoyed.

What is a Caribbean festival food? ›

Festival is a type of Jamaican street food that is usually eaten with Jerk meat or fish. It is slightly sweet and crunchy. We have to get our fix every few months so we make it and enjoy it with jerk chicken and some of the condiments I make such as Ginger Marmalade.

Why is it called Jamaican festival? ›

These slightly sweet fritters are fluffy inside and crisp on the outside. According to legend, these light Jamaican corn bread fritters got their name because eating them is fun — like a festival.

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 the most popular festival in Jamaica? ›

One highlight of the Jamaica calendar of events is Carnival in Jamaica, a day of dazzling parades where costumed revelers dance through the city streets in bright, colorful costumes.

What are traditional dumplings made of? ›

Chinese dumplings are essentially a flour wrapper that is wrapped around a filling that can be meat, seafood, veggies, or a mixture, and are very similar to wontons but use a round wrapper, and are boiled.

Why do Jamaicans eat dumplings? ›

Fried dumplings have their origins in Jamaican colonization and slavery, where workers would pack fried biscuits to take with them on long journeys. Sometimes called “journey cake” or “Johnny Cake”, today's islanders often enjoy fried dumplings with other breakfast dishes like ackee and saltfish, callaloo, or kidney.

What dough are dumplings made of? ›

From-scratch dumpling dough requires only two ingredients — flour and water — and the water temperature yields different types of wrappers. Cold water is best for boiled dumplings because it causes the flour's proteins to form the gluten that makes dough chewy and able to withstand vigorously boiling water.

What is dumpling mix made of? ›

Stir together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in milk and mix until a batter forms that is thick enough to be scooped with a spoon.

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