FOLLOW US

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • About
    • PRs Work With Us
  • MEDIA
  • DIRECTORS CUT
  • Contact Us
Joleisa logo
  • Frugal living
  • Eat for less
  • Start a blog
  • Recommendations

How to Make Jamaican Festivals!

This post may contain affiliate links

You know, Jamaica is such a laid back paradise!

So many things have nothing to do with their actual name and almost no one seems to notice or care. We just go with the flow! Take for example ‘festival’ which sounds like it has something to do with a big musical affair or some other art fayre, far from it! Jamaican festival is a carbohydrate food quite similar to Jamaican fried dumpling (which by the way is in no way similar to Chinese dumpling!

Festival and I

Now I grew up with festivals. We mostly ate it at the beach sold by those enthusiastic cooks who set up their shop by the beach! They rise early in the morning to await the fishermen coming in from sea with the night’s catch. They make their purchase and then they set up things in their shop to start the day’s cooking. When beachgoers start to arrive at the beach, the sellers become so pushy trying to secure customers. It’s jolly and lively but I must admit that to visitors to the country it might seem scary but they really mean no harm.

They serve the hot aromatic fish with festival or dumplings or rice or roasted yam, potatoes, etc. You are in heaven I tell you when you get to eat there. And you know sometimes you go to a well-loved restaurant and sometimes the food is tasty and sometimes not, well to be perfectly honest, I have never been disappointed with food eaten at the beach! It might be a little pricy but the taste is on point every time!

As well as having it at the beach, our mom used to make our festival at home that we would eat either with fish or chicken or sometimes on its own.

We have since come up with our own fail free recipe that we use over and over and even shared at school too when we used to teach.

How to make Jamaican Festivals

The main ingredients for making festival are:

  • Self Raising Flour
  • Cornmeal
  • Sugar

in the ratio of 2:1:1/2

  • You will also need salt
  • water
  • some type of flavourings like cinnamon or mixed spice.
  • The amount of salt and flavouring will depend on how much flour you use and the amount of water should be enough to make a slightly soft dough. It should be soft but not sticky. It is quite easy to do and the good thing is that you can always adjust things the way you like it.

Knead until all the mixture is combined and there is no dry mixture around the sides of the bowl.

Cover and leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Then sprinkle some flour onto a plate. pinch off a piece of dough. Form a ball in the palm of the hands and then roll lengthwise. Flatten slightly and place onto the floured plate. The purpose of this is to prevent the festivals from sticking to the plate. Once you have made enough to fry, place a frying pan on the heat with enough oil to come up halfway to the side of the festival.

The heat should be low to medium heat and each festival should be fried on each side for about 3 minutes until they are golden brown. If it is fried too fast, it will be raw on the inside. If the heat is too low, then the festival dough will soak up the oil.

Here’s a little video of me making some festivals along with steamed fish and also bammy. If you’re like me and prefer to SEE it being made, then check this out.


This is what your festivals should look like.

Jamaican festivals: a side dish usually eaten with fried fish

Enjoy!

We would love it if you click on the image below to share it on Pinterest.

And if you do get to make them, then we would love to see them. So tag us in your photos on Instagram @joleisacreed.

One love,

Jo and Leisa

Related posts

How to make authentic Jamaican rice and peas

How to make Jamaican coco bread and meatloaf

Steamed fish and okra

Jamaican ackee and saltfish

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • More
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email

Related

Filed Under: Frugal Food

About Joleisa

« Getting Back on the Dating Scene When you are Older
How we Plan to Stay fit and Healthy in 2021 »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hey guys and gals!

Hi, we're Jo and Leisa, twin sisters and authors of Joleisa.com. Originally from the sandy beaches of Jamaica we now reside in England where we followed our calling to teach. But sometimes that call changes and our new passion is writing. We're here to give the ups and downs of it all with our lifestyle tips and tricks to help you avoid the sour lemons that can get in our way of frugal budgeting, intentional living and happiness. Join us and learn more about how we found the simplest ways to achieve easy living. Read More…

AS SEEN ON CHANNEL 5’S

We are Sociable

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Our Word of the Week is Break
  • Easter is our Word of the Week
  • Our Word of the Week is Grateful
  • Adjust is my Word of the Week
  • Hyperkalemia is my Word of the Week

MOST POPULAR POSTS

Why we left teaching

  • Be your own boss
  • Set up a blog
  • Making money from your blog
  • Using Pinterest to help your blog
  • Fixing sleep problems
  • Frugal family fun at half term
  • Having to plan a funeral!
  • Let’s show you how we save money on food
  • Our time on Channel 5’s Shop Smart, Save Money
HIBS100 Index of Home and Interior Blogs HIBS100

Copyright © 2025 · Tasteful theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2025 ·Tasteful Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in

YOUR PRIVACY

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
 

Loading Comments...