In the Liberian community of Staten Island and in Liberia itself, kala (Kah-lah, three for $1) are deep-fried balls of dough, eaten for breakfast or as a snack. These were decidedly denser and a little sweeter than Nigerian puff-puff but virtually identical, if memory serves, to Ghanaian togbei or bofrot. The word "kala," in Liberian English, is both singular (as if you'd eat just one) and plural.
The name of this Liberian food might also be connected to that of the rice-based New Orleans fritters, calas (kah-Lah — though when I first tried them at JazzFest, years ago, I heard at least two other pronunciations delivered with equal authority). The oldest source I could quickly lay my hands on, the 1901 edition of The Picayune's Creole Cook Book, employs "Calas" to indicate a batch of fried cakes. But by writing of the "Cala women" and their street vendor's cry of "Belle Cala!" the book blurs singular and plural. As with "cannolis" and "ruglah's," did "calas" acquire an erroneous "S" somewhere along the way?
Park Hill Community Market and Festival
160-180 Park Hill Ave. (Sobel Ct.-Osgood Ave.), Park Hill, Staten Island
www.Facebook.com/events/1407869375926776
(The 2017 market and festival was held on September 30)
