Festival

Ingredients

Dough

• 250 gfine cornmeal
• 150 gplain flour
• 60 gsugar
• 2 tspbaking powder
• ½ tspsalt
• ½ tspground cinnamon or nutmeg
• 1 tspvanilla extract
• about 150 ml water or milk

To fry

• 1 litreoil

To serve

• jerk chicken
• escovitch or fried fish

Directions

1. Mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spice together in a bowl.
2. Add the vanilla and just enough liquid to make a firm dough that holds together without being sticky.
3. Keep the dough firm. A soft one spreads in the oil and gives a flat greasy dumpling rather than a plump one.
4. Knead briefly and rest for 20 minutes so the cornmeal hydrates.
5. Divide into ten and roll each piece between your palms into a torpedo about 10 cm long, tapered at both ends.
6. Heat the oil to 165°C (330°F), which is moderate rather than hot.
7. The oil temperature is the whole thing. Festival is thick and needs time for the middle to cook, and hot oil browns the outside in two minutes and leaves raw dough inside it.
8. Fry in batches for 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until deep golden and firm to the touch.
9. They should float and largely turn themselves as they cook.
10. Drain on a rack and serve hot alongside jerk chicken, escovitch fish or fried fish.
11. It was developed as a street accompaniment in the twentieth century and it is the sweet counterpoint to jerk’s heat.

Technique

• It is sweet, and deliberately so. The sugar is there to work against the scotch bonnet in the jerk.
• Fine cornmeal rather than coarse polenta, which stays gritty.
• They are best within twenty minutes and go leathery once cold.

Substitutions

• Milk in place of water for a slightly richer dumpling.
• All plain flour, which makes them closer to Jamaican fried dumplings.

Variations

• Made smaller as bite-size festivals.
• With grated coconut in the dough.
• Less sweet, which some cooks prefer alongside fish.

History

Sweet fried cornmeal dumpling served with jerk and fried fish, developed as a street accompaniment in the 20th century.

Frequently asked questions

What is Festival?

Festival is a bread & pastry from Jamaica: sweet fried cornmeal dumplings, jerk’s sidekick. Sweet fried cornmeal dumpling served with jerk and fried fish, developed as a street accompaniment in the 20th century.

How long does Festival take to make?

Festival takes 20 min plus 20 min resting of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 10 dumplings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Festival?

Yes, within limits. Milk in place of water for a slightly richer dumpling. All plain flour, which makes them closer to Jamaican fried dumplings.

What is the most important thing to get right in Festival?

Keep the dough firm. A soft one spreads in the oil and gives a flat greasy dumpling rather than a plump one.