Jamaican Festival Fried Cornbread

posted on April 12, 2011 by Cate

Some of you might remember that my last attempt at fried cornmeal fritters didn’t go so well. But try, try again I say. Plus, with a name like festival, I had the feeling that these might be just the things to turn my cornmeal fritter luck around.

Festival is new but popular addition to the street food scene in Jamaica. I made a half batch to test the waters and knew that I’d be making them again before my two weeks in Jamaica was up.

They’re a little savory, a little sweet. The rice flour and starches lightens the dough enough to make it almost fluffy. If I ever get a craving for a gluten-free corndog, this would be the perfect starting point for the dough- just omit some of the sugar and the nutmeg. Actually, a gluten-free corndog is sounding pretty awesome right about now…

Jamaican Festival Fried Cornbread

Ingredients:

* 1/3 cup brown rice flour
* 1/3 cup tapioca starch
* 1/3 cup potato starch
* 2/3 cup cornmeal
* 2 Tablespoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* pinch salt
* Approx 1/2 cup milk
* oil, for frying

Directions:

Combine the brown rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, cornmeal, sugar, xanthan gum, nutmeg, baking soda, vanilla and salt and mix well. Add just enough milk to form a stiff, workable dough. Roll into cylinders several inches long.

Heat oil in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan to 350 degrees. Drop in the shaped dough and fry for about 4-5 minutes, until outside turns golden and the center of the fritters have cooked through. Drain on paper towels and serve.