🌎 Caribbean recipesSide dish

Festival

Name: Festival
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: Makes 12
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 250 g plain flour; 100 g cornmeal; 60 g caster sugar; 2 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp ground cinnamon; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150 ml milk; 30 g butter; 700 ml vegetable oil

By Groceree

Also known as Jamaican Festival

Jamaican fried dumplings, slightly sweet, made from cornmeal and flour and rolled into fingers before frying. The standard partner to fried fish and jerk.

Last updated September 21, 2026

Servings: Makes 12
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 15 min
Total: 50 min

Vegetarian

Ingredients

plain flour250 g
cornmeal100 g
caster sugar60 g
baking powder2 tsp
salt½ tsp
ground cinnamon (optional)½ tsp
vanilla extract1 tsp
milk150 ml
butter30 g
vegetable oil700 ml

Instructions

01
Mix the , , , , and the , if using.
02
Melt the and stir it in with the and enough to bring it to a firm dough. It should be stiffer than a scone dough and not sticky.
03
Knead briefly and rest for 15 minutes.
04
Divide into 12 and roll each into a finger about 10 cm long, tapered at the ends.
05
Pour the into a deep, heavy pan, no more than a third full, and heat it to 170°C, checking with a thermometer. Too hot and they brown before the middle cooks, which is the usual mistake.
06
Fry in batches for 5 to 6 minutes, turning, until deep golden and puffed.
07
Drain and serve hot with escovitch fish, jerk chicken or ackee and saltfish.

Notes

Moderate oil and a full five minutes. Festival is dense and needs time for the centre to cook through.
It is meant to be only faintly sweet — enough to set off salty fried fish, not a doughnut.
A firm dough holds the finger shape. Slack dough spreads into blobs in the oil.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 400 kcal
Protein: 6 g
Carbs: 55 g
Fat: 17 g

Estimated from the ingredients.

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