Kala

Ingredients

Dough

• 500 gplain flour
• 7 ginstant yeast
• 100 ggranulated sugar
• 1 tspsalt
• 1/2 tspgrated nutmeg
• 350 mlwarm water
• 2 tbspvegetable oil

For frying

• 1 litrepalm oil or vegetable oil

To finish

• caster sugar, to dust, if wanted

To serve

• hot sweet tea
• or hot cocoa

Directions

1. Put the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and nutmeg in a large bowl. Whisk them together so the yeast and salt are distributed. Pour in the warm water gradually, beating with a wooden spoon.
2. Beat it hard for three minutes until it is smooth and stretchy. The mixture should be thick and sticky, and should drop heavily from the spoon. Beat in the oil at the very end. Cover the bowl with a cloth and put it somewhere warm. Leave it for at least ninety minutes. It should more than double and be full of bubbles.
3. Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot to about 170C. Too hot and they brown before the middle cooks. Scoop up a handful of dough and squeeze it in your fist. Scrape it off with a wet spoon and drop it into the oil.
4. Keep the hand and spoon wet, since dry ones make the dough stick. Work close to the oil so the ball does not splash as it lands. Fry six or eight at a time so the temperature does not crash. Now the frying itself, which takes a few minutes.
5. Turn them with a slotted spoon as they colour. They tend to turn themselves once one side is done. Fry them for about five minutes total until deep golden all over.
6. Check one by breaking it open: the middle should be cooked and airy. Raw centres mean the oil is too hot, so lower the heat. Lift them onto a rack lined with paper. Let the oil come back to temperature between batches.
7. Dust them with caster sugar while they are still hot if you want them sweeter. Serve them warm, piled in a bowl. They are eaten with hot sweet tea in the morning.

Technique

• The dough is a wet batter and must not be kneaded or knocked back.
• Keep your hand and spoon wet, since dry ones make the dough stick.
• Fry at 170C; hotter oil leaves the middle raw.

Substitutions

• Vegetable oil in place of palm oil, though the colour is paler.
• Ground cinnamon in place of nutmeg.

Variations

• With mashed ripe banana beaten into the dough.
• Rolled in cinnamon sugar while hot.
• Made plain and savoury, with the sugar reduced.

History

Sweet fried dough balls sold in the morning from covered basins by street vendors, eaten with tea or on the way to work.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kala?

Kala is a street food from Liberia: sweet fried dough puffs sold in the mornings. Sweet fried dough balls sold in the morning from covered basins by street vendors, eaten with tea or on the way to work.

How long does Kala take to make?

Kala takes 20 min plus 90 min rising of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 30 puffs. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kala?

Yes, within limits. Vegetable oil in place of palm oil, though the colour is paler. Ground cinnamon in place of nutmeg.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kala?

The dough is a wet batter and must not be kneaded or knocked back.