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Rye 'N' Injun Boys
1½ CUPS RYE MEAL 1/2 CUP WHITE FLOUR 1/4 CUP CORN MEAL I TABLESPOON SUGAR 1/4 TEASPOON CINNAMON 1/4 TEASPOON SALT 21/2 TEASPOONS BAKING POWDER I EGG, BEATEN I TABLESPOON MOLASSES Sift dry ingredients together, add egg, molasses, and just enough water to make a very soft dough. Cut water in with a knife. Drop by large spoonfuls into hot fat and fry brown. Drain on soft paper. 2 EGGS I CUP MILK I CUP FLOUR
A fried drop-dough fritter built on the old New England pairing of rye and cornmeal. The dough should be soft enough to slide off the spoon but not pourable.
- Rye mealRye meal is coarser than the rye flour sold for bread; whole-grain dark rye flour is the closest supermarket match. If you can only find light rye, the fritters will be milder and paler.
- Indian mealThe corn meal here is what older books call Indian meal. Fine or medium yellow cornmeal works; coarse grits-grind will stay gritty in the short frying time.
- Baking powder amountThe leavening reads as 2½ teaspoons for 2¼ cups of rye meal, flour and corn meal, which is about the usual proportion for a quick batter.
- Cutting in the waterThe recipe says to cut the liquid in with a knife rather than stirring it. Expect somewhere between ½ and ¾ cup of water, added a spoonful at a time, to reach the very soft dough called for.
- Fat temperatureFry at 360-375F, deep enough for the dough to float. Below that the fritters soak fat; above it the outside browns before the centre sets, and rye batters look done well before they are.
- Size and timingLarge spoonfuls will need roughly 3-4 minutes, turning once. Break one open to check the middle before frying the rest.
- Draining"Soft paper" means unglazed absorbent paper; paper towels or a rack over a tray do the same job. Serve hot, with molasses or maple syrup.
- YieldAbout a dozen fritters, enough for four as a side or breakfast.