This is one of those meals I like to refer to as being ‘country food’ from it’s rustic feel and simplicity. One of my favorite “bush cook” meals as a kid on the islands was corn meals dumplings with dasheen bush bhaji cooked in coconut milk, on the side. A meal which was guaranteed to give you the sleepies after devouring a huge plate. These corn meal dumplings are also excellent in those heavy soups we enjoy on the islands and if all fails, just top with a bit of butter and you’re good to go.

You’ll Need…

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar (granulated)
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of cinnamon
lukewarm water

* The cinnamon and sugar is optional, but I assure you that it’s a great way to add some flavor to what would normally be a bland dumpling.

This is so simple you’ll be done in under 20 minutes. Add all the ingredients (except the water) to a bowl and give it a good whisk to mix everything. Then start add a bit of the luke warm water at a time and mix until you have a dough. The dough should be firm but soft. Knead for about 2-3 minutes then get ready to separate into dumplings.

Pinch off a piece (depends on how large you want your finished dumplings – remember they will swell as they boil), then shape like a small cigar. Now flatten out from the center, until you have a shaped dumpling.

All you have to do now is place them into a boiling pot of salted water (about 8 cups of water with 1/2 teaspoon salt) and cook for about 15 minutes . They will get bigger in size and float when they’re fully cooked.Drain and serve warm.

If you don’t have a topping for these, you can certainly toss it in some butter or olive oil and crack in some fresh black pepper. But you can also top these with saltfish buljol, Caribbean style stewed meats or any of the vegetarian type sides I’ve share on here in the past. Today I had some smoked herrings I did specifically for these corn meal dumplings and I can let you know that the ethnic fatigue did set in immediately after this lovely meal.

* If you’re wondering what a “bush cook” is… back in the days when we would go swimming at the river across the road from where I grew up, we’d usually have a pot bubbling away as we swam. I guess it could be compared to cooking in the wild as in North America when you go camping. Pot on 3 rocks over a wood flame.. food had a special taste. But cleaning that pot after was a job!

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Recipe Card

Print Recipe

Cornmeal Dumplings

Courses: Side Dishes

Diet:

V Vegetarian

Description

Ingredients

1 cup All-purpose flour
¹⁄₂ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar (granulated)
1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch of cinnamon
1 part lukewarm water

Instructions

Video

Add Cornmeal (1/2 cup), All-Purpose Flour (1 cup), Ground Cinnamon (1 pinch), Baking Powder (1 1/2 teaspoon), and Granulated Sugar (1 teaspoon) to a bowl and give it a good whisk to mix everything together.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then add a bit of the lukewarm Water (to taste) at a time and mix until you have a dough. The dough should be firm, but soft.
Knead for about 2-3 minutes then prepare to separate into dumplings.
Pinch off a piece, then shape like a small cigar.
Now flatten out from the center, until you have a shaped dumpling.
Heavily season the boiling water with salt. Place them into the pot and cook for about 15 minutes. They will get bigger in size and float when they’re fully cooked.
Drain and serve warm.
If you don’t have a topping for these, you can certainly toss it in some butter or olive oil and crack in some fresh black pepper. Enjoy.

Note

The cinnamon and sugar is optional, but I assure you that it’s a great way to add some flavor to what would normally be a bland dumpling.

Tell us what you think

cassava dumpling (14)

Our dad grew up on the family cocoa and coffee plantation with my great grandparents, so basically his meals consisted of what we refer to “blue” food. Ground provisions (yams, dasheen, eddoes, cassava etc), green bananas, dumplings and other very traditional dishes passed on from slavery days. So when we were growing up many of these dishes were a strong part of our diet as well, since mom would make stuff the old fella enjoyed. To this day my sisters have no love for many of these foods, but my brother and I crave them. Especially since we’re not at “home” where it’s in abundance… such is the life of immigrants I guess.

Today’s recipe takes me back to when my uncle and I would make our own little “cook” with ingredients we could easily salvage around the house or garden. Cassava dumplings and dasheen bush simmered in coconut milk and a rosy green scotch bonnet pepper… if we were lucky we’d also have a few ochroes to go into the bhaji mix.

You’ll Need…

1 cup grated cassava
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
6-10 tablespoon water
pinch baking powder

* if you can’t get fresh cassava to grate, you can also try using cassava flour. Many Latin markets will stock it (may be called yucca flour)

Peel the cassava with a potato peeler or sharp pairing knife to remove the bark-like outer skin, then using a box grater (be careful) as it’s very easy to catch your fingers as the cassava pieces gets smaller as you grate. I’m sure this could probably work in a food processor, but I’ve never tried it.

cassava dumpling

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In the same bowl with the grated cassava add the flour and baking powder. Knead into a firm but elastic dough… since the grated cassava will have a bit of moisture, work the flour into it before adding water. This will see it go like ‘peas”, but it will give you an idea of how much water you’ll need to add. Then start adding water one tablespoon at a time. Since I cannot comment on how moist your cassava will be, I recommend adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time. It may take a bit of muscle to really work the dough, but try to get a nice smooth finish.

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Now cover the bowl with a bit of plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 20-25 minutes. The next step is to bring about 7 cups of water to boil in a fairly large pot and add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water.

As the water comes to a boil…

Dust a flat surface with flour and lets get ready to make the dumplings. Cut the dough ball into 8 smaller ones, then give each a sort of cigar roll and then work with your fingers to form the shape of a tongue. BTW, these dumplings are sometimes called cow’s tongue (due to it’s shape). See the pics below for a pictorial explanation.

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The water should be boiling now so gently add each dumpling and give it a stir. This will cook on medium heat (make sure it’s boiling) for about 5 minutes or so. You’ll know when they’re done, when you see them float to the to[ of the pot.

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The final step is to drain and get ready to serve (best hot). Today I enjoyed mine with saltfish buljol, but if you’re looking for something even more basic.. simply stir in some butter and enjoy. This goes great with many curry meats, stewed meats and if you were to go to Tobago you must have it with curried crabs. I had three of them and was stuffed.. so this could easily serve 4 small eaters. You’ll notice that I added some red cabbage to my saltfish buljol.. had some in the fridge and figured I’d use it. Added a nice crunch to the overall dish.

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Happy Cooking

Chris….

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