I decided to share my Jamaican Festival Dumplings (Vegan, Gluten-Free) recipe for those people like myself who cannot handle gluten and are also vegan. This recipe is similar to hush puppies recipes, it is made with cornmeal and gluten-free flour mix, sweetener and then it is fried in oil. It is traditionally served with fish but I served mine with Scrambled Tofu and Southern-Style Collard Greens.
It is normally deep fried but can be lightly fried to cut back on the amount of oil used. It is easy to prepare and tastes delicious! They are crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside, they make the perfect side dish.
For the gluten-free flour, I used Bob's Red Mills Gluten-Free 1:1 Baking Flour with great success.
My hubby loved these festivals so much he couldn't stop complimenting me how great they were, I believe that it brought back memories of Jamaica as well for him. I hope that you will try this recipe and that it will become part of your family as well. Bon Appetit!
Nutrition
- Energy:
- 135 kcal / 564 kJ
- Fat:
- 2 g
- Protein:
- 3 g
- Carbs:
- 27 g
Cooking Time
- Preparation:
- 5 min
- Cooking:
- 10 min
- Ready in:
- 15 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar, or sweetener of your choice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water, (cold)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- oil, for frying
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, flaxseeds, and salt.
- Mix in water and vanilla until fully combined. Knead and form into a dough ball.
- Separate dough into equal pieces, about 6-12 depending on size. Shape each piece into sausage shape by rolling between the palm of your hands and flatten slightly.
- Heat oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Place dough into the skillet and cook for about 3 minutes on one side, reduce heat and flip the dough on the other side for another 3 minutes. Fry dough until golden brown on all sides.
- Remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve immediately!
Notes
Have you triode making festivals with almond or coconut flour?
No I haven’t but it should work.
Oohh yes festival, can’t wait to try
I assume these would also bake up well. Do you have any suggestions for baking the festivals? I would love to surprise my husband with them as a memory of our vacation there last year.
Sounds like a lovely idea, the only thing is I didn’t get to try them in an oven because my oven broke. I’m still waiting for the technician to fix it, thinking of getting a countertop convection oven in the meantime. Lightly frying in a ceramic pan and covering with a lid midway to make sure the middle is done, then remove the cover to brown the outside. I will do a live video soon to show how I fry with very little oil.
These look delish. Can they be shaped in a pancake shape or is it best in a sausage like you suggest?