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Historic French Quarter rice fritters, yeasted overnight for ethereal lightness, fried golden and buried under powdered sugar, the way African American vendors sold them on New Orleans streets for two hundred years.
Before beignets became the darling of tourists, there were calas. These humble rice fritters once defined breakfast in New Orleans, sold by African American women who walked the French Quarter streets calling "Belle calas! Tout chauds!" Beautiful calas, piping hot. That cry echoed through the Quarter from the 1700s until the early twentieth century, when the tradition nearly disappeared.
The genius of calas lies in their economy. Enslaved cooks and later free women of color transformed leftover rice into something beautiful. The overnight yeast fermentation creates a light, almost ethereal texture that no baking powder can replicate. When you bite through that crisp shell dusted with powdered sugar, the inside is tender and slightly chewy from the rice, perfumed with nutmeg and vanilla.
At Lagniappe, I serve calas during Jazz Brunch because they deserve to be remembered. This is living history you can taste. The recipe I'm sharing comes from four generations of New Orleans cooks who refused to let this tradition die. My grandmother Evangeline made them every Sunday, and now you can too.
Quantity
2 cups
cooled, preferably day-old
Quantity
1/2 cup
105-110°F
Quantity
1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons)
Quantity
3
at room temperature
Quantity
1 1/4 cups
Quantity
1/2 cup
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 teaspoon
Quantity
about 3 cups
for frying
Quantity
for dusting
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cooked white ricecooled, preferably day-old | 2 cups |
| warm water105-110°F | 1/2 cup |
| active dry yeast | 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) |
| large eggsat room temperature | 3 |
| all-purpose flour | 1 1/4 cups |
| granulated sugar | 1/2 cup |
| fine sea salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| freshly grated nutmeg | 1/2 teaspoon |
| ground cinnamon | 1/4 teaspoon |
| pure vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon |
| vegetable or peanut oilfor frying | about 3 cups |
| powdered sugar | for dusting |
Pour the warm water into a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast over the surface. Let it sit undisturbed for five to ten minutes until the yeast blooms into a foamy, beige cap. This tells you the yeast is alive and ready to work. If nothing happens, your water was too hot or your yeast is dead. Start over with fresh yeast.
Place the cooled rice in a large mixing bowl. Using a potato masher or the back of a heavy wooden spoon, crush the rice until about half the grains are broken and the mixture becomes slightly sticky. You want some texture remaining, not a smooth paste. Day-old rice works best because it's drier and absorbs the batter better.
Add the bloomed yeast mixture to the mashed rice and stir to combine. Beat the eggs lightly in a separate bowl, then add them to the rice along with the flour, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir everything together until you have a thick, slightly lumpy batter. It should be wetter than pancake batter but not pourable. The rice grains should be visible throughout.
Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature overnight, or at least eight hours. The batter will double in size and develop a pleasant, yeasty aroma. This slow fermentation is where the magic happens. The yeast creates tiny air pockets that make the calas light instead of dense, and the flavor deepens into something you can't achieve with baking powder.
When you're ready to fry, stir down the risen batter gently. It will deflate slightly but should still be airy and bubbly. Pour three inches of oil into a heavy Dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet. Clip a deep-fry thermometer to the side and heat the oil over medium heat to 360°F. Line a baking sheet with paper towels and set it nearby.
Using two tablespoons or a small ice cream scoop, drop rounded portions of batter into the hot oil, working in batches of four or five to avoid crowding. The calas will sink, then float to the surface within seconds. Fry for two to three minutes per side, turning once with a slotted spoon, until deep golden brown all over. The color should remind you of a well-toasted baguette.
Transfer the fried calas to the paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain for thirty seconds, then move them to a serving platter. Dust generously with powdered sugar while still warm. The sugar should cling to the surface in a thick, sweet coat. Serve immediately. Calas wait for no one.
Between batches, let the oil return to 360°F before adding more batter. Oil that's too cool produces greasy fritters. Oil that's too hot browns the outside before the inside cooks through. Watch your thermometer and adjust the heat as needed. Patience here means perfect calas every time.
1 serving (about 45g)
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