The Original New Orleans Calas

A note about timing: Calas are made with cooked rice that is mixed with yeast and water to make a sponge which sits overnight either in the refrigerator or at room temperature. Leaving the sponge at room temperature will give the Calas a slightly fermented taste, something like sourdough.

A note about Calas batter: As you make Calas, the batter will thin. Occasionally add a little more rice flour to keep the batter cohesive and at the consistency described in the recipe below.

You will also need:

1. A small bowl in which to make the sponge and a large bowl to mix the batter.
2. A heavy pot that holds heat well to deep-fry the Calas.
3. A deep-fry or candy thermometer is useful for judging the oil’s temperature.
4. A small ladle, one used for serving sauces or gravy is a good size; or use a a soup spoon.
5. Two forks for turning the frying fritters.
6. A cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet.
7. A strainer to sprinkle the powdered sugar over the hot Calas before serving.

For the sponge:

1. Place the yeast and 1/8 teaspoon of sugar in a small bowl, add the warm water and stir to dissolve the yeast and proof it (i.e. make sure that the yeast becomes active. Tiny bubbles will begin to rise to the surface, indicating that the yeast isn’t dead.)
2. Add the rice and mix it well with the yeast and water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight. Or you can leave it at room temperature to give the batter a slightly sourish, fermented taste.

For the Calas:

1. The next day, pour the sponge into a larger bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, the beaten eggs, 1 cup of rice flour, and the salt.
2. Check the consistency of the batter. A good batter will jiggle in the bowl, and, at the same time, hold together. A ladle full of it also will hold together and will continue to hold its shape as it pours from the ladle. In other words, the batter releases in a single round-ish form from the ladle. (Photos illustrating this are on the related link.)
3. Add oil to a depth of at least 2-inches into the pot used for deep-frying the Calas. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches a temperature of about 350 F.
4. Before beginning to fry the Calas, test the consistency of the batter again by pouring a small spoonful into the hot oil. If the batter is too thin, it will scatter into small bits as it falls into the oil. (See the related link for a photo illustration.) Thicken a thin batter by adding a little more rice flour.
5. Spoon a rounded mound of batter into the ladle and, with one finger, quickly push it out of the ladle and into the hot oil. Make a small number of Calas at one time (3 or 4, depending on the size of the pot). The temperature of the oil is difficult to maintain at around 350 F if too many fritters are made at once.
6. Fry on one side until you begin to see a golden color rising up the edges of the fritter. This occurs in about 2 minutes.
7. Turn the fritter with two forks. Continue frying until the second side turns a light shade of gold, in about another 2 minutes.
8. As you continue to make fritters, the batter will thin. Occasionally add a little more rice flour to keep the remaining batter cohesive and ‘jiggly-in-the-bowl’. Try to keep the oil hovering at a temperature of around 350 F.
9. Transfer the Calas as they are done to a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet.
10. When all the batter is used up and all the fritters made, sift powdered sugar over the rack of Calas and serve them hot.

An acknowledgement: This version of Calas is based on one in Miss Celestine Eustis’s cookbook “Cooking In Old Creole Days” (1911). The full text of Miss Eustis’s fine cookbook is available free online as part of “Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project”.