Email to Cat      

Calas (Rice Fritters)

Source of Recipe


From "A Love Affair with Southern Cooking"



List of Ingredients



• 2/3 cup sifted cake flour (preferably White Lily or Martha White)
  
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
  
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
  
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
  
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg)
  
• 1/8 tsp salt
  
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten with 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 cups cooked long-grain rice, at room temperature (measure lightly packed)
  
• Vegetable oil for deep-fat frying (2 to 2-1/2 quarts)
  
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting
  






Instructions



1. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the egg mixture and whisk just until combined; fold in the rice. Do not overbeat or your calas will be tough. Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, pour the oil into a deep-fat fryer or large kettle at least 4 inches deep, insert a deep-fat thermometer, and set over high heat until the oil reaches 350°F.
   
   
3. Working with about a third of the cala mixture at a time, drop from a rounded tablespoon (or better yet a No.24 spring-loaded ice cream scoop) into the hot oil, spacing the calas well apart. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning as needed until evenly browned and keeping the oil as near to 350° as possible. Lift to paper toweling to drain. Dust the calas with confectioners' sugar and serve warm for Sunday breakfast or brunch with drizzlings of cane syrup or maple syrup.
   
   Makes about 2 dozen.