Jamaican Festivals | Crunchy Craveable Cornmeal
Fried cornmeal dumplings made a bit sweeter and spicer. Perfect compliment to jerked meat.
Equipment
- 1 large metal bowl
- 2 clean hands
- 1 kitchen scale (optional)
- 1 measuring cup
- 1 fine sieve
- 1 small pot or saucepan
Ingredients
- 3/ cup all-purpose flour (325 g)
- 1/ cup cornmeal (125 g)
- 1 tbsp baking powder (15 g)
- ¼ cup milk (60 mL)
- ¼ cup water (60 mL)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (8 mL)
- ½ tsp Kosher salt (2 g)
- ½ tsp nutmeg (freshly grated) (2 g)
- 1/ cup olive oil (125 mL)
Instructions
Preparation
- Assemble all equipment and ingredients.
The Dough
- Using a fine sieve, sift together ½ cup all-purpose flour (120 g), ¼ cornmeal (60 g), 1 tbsp baking powder (15 g), ½ tsp nutmeg (2 g) and ½ tsp Kosher salt (2 g).
- Heat a solution of ¼ cup water (60 mL), ¼ cup milk (60 mL) and 2 tsp vanilla extract (8 mL) in a small pot until warm (at the first hint of steam).
- Add the flour mixture to the liquids and stir to combine into a firm dough.
- Knead methodically for 5 min. Set aside to rest for 10 min.
- Form the dough into oblong rolls, roughly 8 x 4 cm in dimensions, and set aside.
Frying
- Bring ¼ cup oil (60 mL) to medium heat in a wide pan.
- Lay the oblong rolls into the hot oil, in one evenly spaced layer, away from you to minimize oil splatter risk. There should be minor bubbling as water evaporates from the dough through the hot oil.
- Fry the festivals until medium dark brown (90-120 sec), then flip and fry for an additional 90 sec. *Note: The first few festivals inevitably cook a bit slower as the oil temperature equilibrates.
- Evacuate the fried festivals onto a serving tray lined with a paper towel to blot away any excess oil.
Service
- Once the last festival is finished, turn off the heat and serve immediately. Enjoy heartily!