Jamaican Fried Dumplings Recipe (2024)

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Written by Lesa Updated on May 13, 2023 in Side Dish

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So you love Jamaican fried dumplings and want to learn how to make them? You’re in the right place because you’ll make the perfect dumplings today. You will be surprised how simple and easy fried dumpling is to make. Just three ingredients, or add butter and make it four.

The origin of Jamaican fried dumplings

Fried dumplings originated in Jamaica, but the person(s) and the exact time this recipe was created are unknown. Many popular Jamaican cuisines are rooted in the country’s diverse history, with influences from West Africa, India and Asia. The fried dumpling seems to be a reminiscence of West African and Asia cooking that has evolved into the dish it is today.

In Jamaican, fried dumplings are eaten at breakfast or as part of lunch. It’s usually served with callaloo, ackee and saltfish, steamed cabbage or scrambled eggs if you want a quick breakfast.

Jamaican fried dumplings ingredients

Jamaican fried dumplings are made of three simple ingredients, or four if you wish to add butter:

Flour: The recipe below uses plain (all-purpose) flour. When making dumplings, you don’t need to sieve the flour.
Baking powder: When using plain flour, you must use baking powder to help make the dumplings soft. The dumplings won’t swell without the baking powder, and they will turn out hard.
Salt: The salt adds a slightly savoury flavour to the dumplings you know and love.

Butter and sugar are other ingredients that are often used. Butter also helps to soften the dumpling texture. Sugar adds a hint of sweetness to the dumpling, but the amount of sugar you use isn’t has much as you would in the Jamaican festival dumplings. If you want to add butter, see the notes in the recipe card below.

You can do without the baking powder when you use self-raising flour for the Jamaican fried dumplings recipe. If you need help gauging the amount of baking powder to the amount of flour you’re using, then it is better to use self-raising flour.

How To Make Jamaican Fried Dumplings

The dough: Add all the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl and combine. Then you gradually add water and knead into a soft dough. Gradually adding the water will prevent you from adding too much to the mixture. You want a soft dough but not a wet dough.
The oil: It’s best to add the oil to a deep pot. Use enough oil to cover or almost over the dumplings when frying. Make sure the oil is hot before adding the dumplings.
The dumplings: Keep the heat low to medium because you don’t want the dumplings to brown before the inside cooks. The perfect dumpling is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Dumpling varieties

The three main ingredients for fired dumplings are flour, baking powder and salt. You will often see sugar and butter added to the recipe and, more recently, plant-based milk. All three ingredients add something different to the flavour and texture.
Fried dumplings’ shapes vary too. You can make the fried dumplings round, long, flat, twirly and whatever shape you like.

What to eat with Jamaica fried dumplings

The great thing about fried dumplings is that they go with almost anything at any time of the day. The most popular dishes to serve fried dumpling with arecallaloo,ackeeorcabbage. I love fried dumpling with scrambled egg or eating it alone.