Jamaican Festival (recipe)
Filed Under pareve, vegetarian, sides | Posted on May 7, 2007
Jamaican Festival has to be one of my most favorite things ever. Seriously. It is just delicious. Slightly sweet cornmeal fried ‘dumplings’, they are traditionally served alongside spicy meat dishes, such as Jamaica’s infamous ‘jerk’. The sweetness offsets the meat, pepper and spices most sublimely, and the doughy texture is ideal for soaking up gravy and sauces. The lovely golden colour also makes a wonderful accent when plating a dish. Its color is also why i have submitted it to the Taste of Yellow food challenge 
For a totally non-traditional twist, drizzle them with honey while still warm and you’ve got a wonderful breakfast idea as well 
Why the name Festival? Well supposedly the taste is so divine it’s like having a ‘festival’ in your mouth. Hehe. I’ll let you be the judge
Jamaican Festival
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Serving Size: 6
Ingredients:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
oil for frying
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together, adding just enough cold water to make a stiff dough (about 3/4 cup).
Knead and divide into six portions.
Roll each portion with your hands into a log shape and squeeze lightly to flatten.
Heat oil in a skillet or wok and deep fry the festivals until golden brown, about 4 minutes each.
Remove excess oil on kitchen towel before serving.
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7 Responses to “Jamaican Festival (recipe)”
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I love festival. Although some of the versions I have had seemed sweeter than a tablesppon of sugar though. All good anyway. Festival and ackee and saltfish. Festival and fish. Or eggs. mmm.
Festival and eggs?
missed out on that one 
yes i’ve seen some recipes that have like 1/4 cup sugar and more whiteflour than cornmeal… i haven’t tried them yet but i will! mom doesn’t like things too sweet but we’ll see how it goes 
Uhm. Yeah. Eggs
See, most of the festival I have eaten in my life have actually been at the breakfast buffets in Jamaican hotels 
Ergo - eggs.
And yes, that’s the other thing. Not that much cornmeal in those. But I love cornmeal, so would love yours I am sure!
I am Jamaican, and I had never heard of Festival until 1990. I was missing out. My friend makes like pouches, so you can stuff your callaloo or ackee…
These sound wonderful. Thank you for supporting A Taste of Yellow.
oh gorm! fried festival stuffed with ackee?? i think i would be in heaven!!
im having it now with peppered baked beans!
thanks for the recipie; i didnt have any baking powder so that made it different from ‘festival’ as i know it, and even still, i think it the cornmeal was a bit much for me - ill add a little lest next time, seeing that this is my first try after mastering fried dumpling (i think).
maybe i shouldn’t have had cornmeal porridge today - a bit much cornmeal for one day