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.

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.

Jamaican fried dumplings ingredients

When making dumplings, you don't need to sieve the flour. Baking powder: When using plain flour, you must use baking powder to help make the dumplings soft. The dumplings won't swell without the baking powder, and they will turn out hard.

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 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.

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.

Coco bread is the Jamaican answer to American-style yeast rolls. The bread is made with flour, sugar, salt, yeast, butter, and coconut milk. Nestled in the Karibe 12" cast-iron skillet and baked until puffy and golden brown, each roll is slightly sweet due to the addition of granulated sugar and full-fat coconut milk.

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.

A pinch of salt seasons the dumplings and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients. Cold butter or margarine is cut into the flour mixture to bind the dry ingredients together. It also keeps the dumplings light and tender. Whole milk helps create a smooth, moist dough.

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 unhealthy are fried dumplings? ›

Fried dumplings are crunchy and great with meat. Steamed dumplings are soft and great with rice, vegetables and soup.

Unlike traditional Jamaican Fried Dumplings, Festival is sweet, crisp on the outside and dense. Most earlier recipes were very heavy with equal amounts of flour and cornmeal. But nowadays you'll often find ones with just a hint of cornmeal. In my book that makes them too similar to regular 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. The fried version is usually served as an accompaniment to breakfast codfish.

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.

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.

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