Calas — New Orleans Rice Fritters

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked white rice, cold and slightly overcooked
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups neutral oil, for frying
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Mash the cold rice against the side of the bowl with a fork until roughly half the grains break down. That mash is what holds the fritters together.
2. Stir in the eggs and vanilla, then the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. The batter should be thick enough to sit up on a spoon.
3. Heat 2 inches of oil to 360°F (182°C). A dab of batter should rise and sizzle immediately without browning in seconds.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons into the oil, 4 or 5 at a time, and fry 3–4 minutes, turning once, until deep gold and hollow-sounding when tapped.
5. Drain on a rack, not paper, and bury in powdered sugar. Eat hot, with coffee strong enough to stand a spoon in.