Creole Rice Calas

I love Creole cooking, and the intense flavors and rich history that goes along with it. What has been just as interesting, is discovering the varying Creole dessert recipes. Creole Rice Calas, are not just sweet dessert treats, but they have a neat little bit of history that goes along with them. I will share that in a little bit.

What are Creole Rice Calas?

Basically, they are fried rice cakes. These were often made when there was leftover rice after a meal. If they weren't sure what to do with the extra rice, this was the dessert to fall back on. Creole Rice Calas are fried balls of rice, and dough. They are covered with powdered sugar and a little bit similar to a beignet. They have also been known to be called rice fritters.

Evidently, long ago in New Orleans, especially on a cold morning, you would hear this phrase cried out in the streets, " 'CALAS! CALAS! TOUTES CHAUDES!" This request could be heard from the area around the French Quarter. This was where many Creole women made and then sold these little treats. They were and are considered little special delicacies. I like that they made scrumptious treats out of leftovers and what they had, which avoided waste while providing a little extra income during what were sometimes hard times. If warm especially, you can imagine what a nice breakfast that was for passers by. What a great idea for everyone involved.

While the sweet Creole calas are wonderful, they are not the only ones. There is a more savor version that calls for less sweet ingredients. They include bacon, onions, bell peppers and tomatoes and more. What a twist on the same idea, and this version also sounds like it would be great for breakfast as well. Would just depend on your preference at the moment.

Without giving out the recipe just yet, I wanted to share the basic ingredients with you. The recipes will likely be easily found in creole cookbooks as well as variations online.

There is some basic baking types of ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs and vanilla extract, confectioners sugar, and oil and nutmeg. These ingredients help to to cover the dough part, and you will also be using rice of course. Other recipes use cinnamon and or maceas well. Depending on the recipe, they may call for dry active yeast, which probably adds a a different, but fun difference.

For the more savory version of the Creole Rice Calas, you need bacon, onions and peppers, chopped up.  Not sure about you, but I think both would be wonderful.  I think its great that we pass on our history through food, and continue to celebrate teh Creole cooking traditions.