Festival (Jamaican Sweet Fried Cornmeal Dumplings)
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Serious Eats.
A soft dough of flour, cornmeal, sugar, nutmeg and milk, rolled into short cigars and deep-fried for about 2 minutes until golden. Kept warm in a low oven and served hot.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Make the dough. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, bicarbonate and nutmeg together. Stir in the milk a little at a time until the dough is soft and pliable, like modelling clay; use the extra milk only if it stays dry and crumbly.
- 2
Shape. Heat the oven to 90 °C to keep the festival warm. Cut the dough into 10 equal pieces and roll each lightly between your palms into a fat cigar about 9 cm long and 2.5 cm thick, handling it as little as possible.
- 3
Fry. Heat oil 5 cm deep to 185 °C. Fry 4-5 at a time, turning after 1 minute, for about 2 min in total, keeping the oil at about 170 °C, until deep golden. Break one open to check the centre is fluffy, not wet.
- 4
Serve. Drain on the tray and keep warm in the oven while you fry the rest. Serve hot.
Storage
Best eaten fresh. Keep leftovers airtight for 1 day and reheat in a 180 °C oven for 5 min. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
Free sugars
2.6 g per serving
5.2 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 10.4 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- whisk
- deep heavy pot or Dutch oven
- cooking thermometer
- slotted spoon or spider
- tray lined with kitchen paper
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 321 kcal |
| Protein | 6.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 51 g |
| of which sugars | 4.8 g |
| of which free sugars | 2.6 g |
| Fat | 9.9 g |
| of which saturates | 1.3 g |
| Fibre | 2.1 g |
| Salt | 0.66 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.9 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
