Creole calas: honoring the legacy of African diasporas

May 1, 2025 at 9:00 am by Katharine Hoang

Creole calas are a tasty dessert that embody a rich history of African American culture.

On my continuous journey to explore culinary legacies, Creole calas stands out as a testament to resilience and freedom. These rice fritters carry the rich culinary legacy of the African diaspora, telling a story of survival and how culture remains to persist despite attempts of erasure. Born from the creativity and resilience of Black women, they tell a story that lives on in the soul of an enduring community.

Though New Orleans claims the dish proudly today, calas are traditional rice fritters that trace their roots back to West Africa, where the use of leftover rice is part of traditional foodways of countries including Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia. In fact, in Bong County, Liberia, these rice fritters are traditional and also go by the name “cala”— a linguistic and culinary thread from Africa to Louisiana that speaks to the endurance of diasporic memory.

The precise moment calas entered New Orleans is unclear, but by the mid 19th-century, they were already deeply embedded in domestic cooking. Journalist Ora Mae Lewis observed that calas were so commonplace as a method of using leftover rice that early Creole cookbooks didn’t even bother to include them as a recipe. The ingredients are seemingly simple: cooked rice, eggs or flour or both, sugar, nutmeg and some sort of leavening agent – yet they were transformative, especially when fried in hot lard and dusted with powdered sugar.

But calas were more than just a kitchen staple; they were also a means of economic survival. Before the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, New Orleans was under Spanish rule, governed by coartación, a legal system that allowed enslaved people to “self-purchase their freedom” by agreeing on a price with their enslaver and paying it off in installments. The brutally oppressive system of slavery operated alongside limited laws affording enslaved people narrow legal rights and avenues for self-determination, such as selling products or labor within the informal

economy. Though, this process was never easy. Most who pursued it as a means of attaining freedom often faced difficulties and legal battles.

For many, particularly Black women, selling food such as calas became a crucial means of economic mobility. Women would rise before dawn, balancing baskets of freshly fried calas atop their heads, weaving through the French Quarter and calling out to morning crowds: “Beeeeelle Calas! Tout Chaud!” (Beautiful calas! Piping hot!). These women were more than street merchants, they were cultural stewards, carving out spaces of autonomy in a system built to confine them.

As time wore on, however, calas began to fade from the city’s bustling food scene and virtually disappeared as a street food. An article from NPR’s The Salt cites that by 1940, only one calas street merchant remained. Beignets – of French origin – had become the city’s signature fritter, popularized through tourism and commercial appeal. Yet, calas endured – not in cafés or restaurants, but in homes, especially among Black Catholic families who prepared them for First Communion breakfast and during Mardi Gras. Friends and neighbors would prepare calas as treats for maskers taking a break from parading during Mardi Gras. The practice of making and sharing calas goes beyond culinary traditions; it is deeply embedded in the cultural and historical fabric of Black communities. Through the preparation of these rice fritters, historical generations have passed down not only a recipe but a collective memory of creativity, joy and how culture endures. More than just a sweet treat, these fritters remain a tangible connection to the resilience of the African diaspora in New Orleans, ensuring that their legacy lives on as the city’s commercial food scene evolves. Chef Gisele Perez describes them as “a more in-the-home kind of treat,” and perhaps that intimacy is what makes them sacred.

The story of calas remains important, reminding us that food is more than sustenance — it is history, resistance and culture. The resilience of Black communities continues to not only shape American food traditions but also our society at-large. So this year, and every year after, we should honor the origins of the dishes we enjoy. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a quick Google search or watching a short TikTok video about a dish’s history. Food is culture, habit, craving and identity. Knowing where food comes from can bridge our gaps in cultural understanding and even our relationships with food.

Let’s celebrate the contributions of Africans and Black Americans, not just in February but always. And perhaps, let’s bring back calas — one bite at a time. In honor of the Black women who found a sense of freedom or familiarity through calas, I share this recipe with you.

Creole Calas

Servings: 13 Calas

Time: 30-35 minutes

Equipment needed: deep fat fryer or pot with high sides

Deep frying can be dangerous, so make sure you have a stainless steel lid and know where the fire extinguisher is. If you see flames, the lid goes on the pot, heat gets turned off and then you reach for the fire extinguisher. Never fight grease fires with water.

Ingredients:

Cooking oil – just enough to cover the calas

2 cups of cooked white rice (day-old and cold is perfect!)

2 tablespoons milk

3 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ cup granulated sugar

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

This recipe was inspired by several recipes, but I did not learn about calas until I watched

a Tiktok video from @veganhippiesol. I was so enlightened to learn about calas from her, because I never knew there was another fried powdered

treat in the culinary legacy of New Orleans. I used the same ingredients as her but adjusted the measurements. I think resourcefulness goes beyond just trying to maximize the use of a food or ingredient, it’s embedded in the history of Black communities who, through necessity and creativity, shaped not only New Orleans’ but America’s culinary legacy.

There is so much beauty in these dishes that turns leftovers into something sacred.

In a bowl, combine the flour and baking powder.
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until the mixture is fluffy and yellow. Then, mix in sugar, salt, spices, and whisk until smooth and even.
Fold in the rice. Once that is well combined, add in vanilla extract and the flour mixture through a sifter. Proceed to fold in the ingredients until evenly mixed. After, add in milk. Fold in your ingredients until there is no visible trace of milk.
Your batter should be ready to chill in the fridge, covered, for 15 minutes or until needed.
Make sure you do not boil oil until you’ve prepped the ingredients to avoid any fires. When you’re ready, pour oil into the pot. Proceed to turn on the stove, and wait until the oil starts boiling. Note: You can add a little bit of salt directly into the oil BEFORE dropping the batter to avoid any rapid boiling! It’s my Vietnamese family’s cooking secret :)
Make sure your dough is not watery. Proceed to use an ice cream scoop or a spoon to gently drop the batter into the boiling oil. Work in batches of four to five scoops. Note: Try to get the batter as close to the oil as possible so you can avoid any burns!
Ensure that both sides are browned by flipping them over periodically.
Once they seem golden brown and cooked through, remove the calas and drain the grease on a paper towel-lined plate.
Once you’re ready to serve and eat, dust them with powdered sugar using a sifter or instead, drizzle them with chocolate syrup or honey.