Pusharatas, Prsurate, Purshunate a/k/a Croatian Deep Fried Pastries

Pusharatas were a Christmas standard around my house and if you've never had a pusharata, well, you just don't know what you're missing! Similar to a doughnut hole but so much better because they are stuffed with fruit and nuts and cinnamon and nutmeg (and a little whiskey, if you're so inclined). They are a tradition amongst the local community of Slovenian women in Biloxi on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. In December the woman of the Slavic Ladies Auxillary gather together to make pusharatas for their annual pusharata sale held every Christmas. Sometimes you can even catch them sold at a festival booth other times of the year. Scroll on down to the bottom for a traditional recipe by one of the Slavonian ladies.

Everybody has their own recipe and generally they are most always big batches because the women, very often family members, get together and make a night of cooking up huge batches to split among them. That is what my mama did with her sisters. This is about a half recipe from the original below it, but I have no idea how many this makes (because too many disappear in the making!) but it'll make up plenty for your family and for sharing. We used to watch my mama and her sisters make them and could barely wait for them to cool down before we'd be snatching them off the cooling rack! They're that addictive so you actually need to make a big batch of them! Trust me on this one.

Pusharatas, like any doughnut, are best fresh from the fryer.  Store leftovers in the freezer to keep them fresh.  Flash freeze them individually on a baking sheet, and then store them together in a large Ziploc bag in the freezer. Remove only as many as you want at a time and let them thaw at room temperature.  In a pinch, you can microwave for a few seconds to freshen them up a bit.

Note: The glaze should be thicker than pictured here - like a heavily glazed donut. Must've been a cool, damp day when I made these so, make your glaze thicker than I did!

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Mama's Pusharatas
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

2 pounds self rising flour (about 10 cups)
2 heaping teaspoons baking powder for each
   sifter full of flour (sifter holds about 3 ½ cups - should\
    be about 6 teaspoons)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 (15 ounce) box of golden raisins, plumped
2 cups chopped pecans
Zest and pulp of one lemon
Zest and pulp of 2 oranges
2 apples, peeled and grated
2 heaping teaspoons of cinnamon
2 heaping teaspoons of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of whiskey (can omit)
4 cups of whole milk (approximately)
3 teaspoons vanilla extract

Icing Glaze

10 ounce can evaporated milk
2 pound bag of powdered sugar
3 teaspoons of vanilla or almond extract

In a very large mixing bowl, sift the flour and baking powder together. Zest the lemon and orange and add to flour. Peel and remove pulp of both, run through the food processor and grate and add to flour mixture. Peel and core apple, grate and add to the flour mixture, together with the sugar, raisins, pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well. The dough will be shaggy.

Make a well in the center and add milk about a cup at a time, stirring until the dough becomes gummy. Add the whiskey and vanilla and mix.

Using fresh vegetable oil, preheat fryer to 350 degrees. Using a teaspoon or a cookie scoop, carefully drop the dough into the hot oil and fry until browned well on all sides, about 5 minutes. Periodically pop one open to make sure it is cooked through inside. Place a cooling rack on an paper towel or foil lined baking sheet (to catch the glaze drippings)and allow pushratas to cool on the rack.

Prepare the icing glaze by mixing the evaporated milk, powdered sugar and extract until misture is smooth. Dip each cooled pusharata in the glaze and return to the rack to dry. Once dry, you can also do another dip into the glaze if you'd like.

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Make a well in the center and add milk about a cup at a time, stirring until the dough becomes gummy. Add the whiskey and vanilla and mix.

Using fresh vegetable oil, preheat fryer to 350 degrees. Using a teaspoon or a cookie scoop, carefully drop the dough into the hot oil and fry until browned well on all sides, about 5 minutes. Periodically pop one open to make sure it is cooked through inside. Place a cooling rack on an paper towel or foil lined baking sheet (to catch the glaze drippings)and allow pushratas to cool on the rack.

Prepare the icing glaze by mixing the evaporated milk, powdered sugar and extract until misture is smooth. Dip each cooled pusharata in the glaze and return to the rack to dry. Once dry, you can also do another dip into the glaze if you'd like.

The Original Slavic Ladies Auxillary
Pusharata Recipe
by Miss Deenie Kuljis, Biloxi, Mississippi
From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish

Makes 300

5 pounds self-rising flour
2-1/2 cups sugar (1/2 cup for the fruit, below; 2 cups for the flour mixture)
2 cups raisins
3 tablespoons nutmeg
3 tablespoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons whiskey
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 large apples
4 large oranges
1 lemon
6 cups chopped pecans
1/2 gallon milk
Sugar glaze (recipe below)

Combine the dry ingredients: flour, 2 cups sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder. Peel and core the apples. Peel and pit the oranges and lemon. Mince the fruit or run it through a blender or a food processor, but don't liquefy; combine with 1/2 cup sugar. Combine wet ingredients: whiskey, vanilla and milk. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Then mix in fruit, raisins and pecans.

Heat 1/2 to 1 gallon cooking oil in a deep fryer. Drop balls of dough (the ladies use a special scoop or just a standard coffee teaspoon) into hot fat being careful not to crowd the pieces. Fry until golden brown, then drain on paper towels. Coat with sugar glaze.

Sugar glaze: Combine 2 or 3 cans of evaporated milk with 6 pounds confectioner's sugar and almond extract to taste. This is an inexact science. It's best to start with the sifted sugar and add the milk gradually, stirring all the while, till you reach a glaze consistency. Add the extract a small amount at a time, to taste, and remember that the extract adds moisture, too.

Source: http://deepsouthdish.com

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