This popular dessert is made to celebrate the Diwali festival on Trinidad, but it's sold by street vendors year-round. Look for this and other Trinidadian recipes in Sweet Hands: Island Cooking From Trinidad And Tobago (Hippocrene Cookbook Library) by ISLANDS contributor Ramin Ganeshram.

Miss Mattie's Kulma

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon mixed essence (available in Indian markets) or vanilla

Mix butter and flour together and knead well. It will form a hard dough.

Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet on a low heat, meanwhile and roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Place the dough on the skilled and cook for about 1 minute. Turn once and cook 1 minute more. Remove and cut into lengthwise strips about 1/2 inch wide. Cut each strip into 3 inch sections an set aside.

Heat oil in a 1 quart saucepan until a pinch of flour dropped into the pan sizzles. Add dough strips and fry until brown and remove.

Place sugar, cinnamon, and mixed essence or vanilla a pot with 1/2 cup of water. Boil, stirring often, until sugar melts. Simmer until becomes a thick syrup then add dough sticks and toss well. Pour into a heat-proof container to cool.