“On Fat Tuesday? A malasada was what you ate,” says Valdemar “Val” Leite, owner of Ma’s Donuts & More in Middletown, where they’ve been stretching malasada dough since 1993.
Leite, who came to New Bedford from Portugal when he was nine years old, recalls the malasadas – deep-fried fritter-like confections dusted with granulated sugar – his mom made during certain major holidays and in the days right before Lent. “They were always something special because they were a lot of work, especially back then,” he says. “It was an all-night thing for my mother.” When Leite opened his own donut shop, there was no question they’d be on the menu.
While Ma’s makes their malasadas daily, Sunday is the day to swing by. Between 8am and noon, Leite and his team fry up the malasadas fresh and piping hot, serving up 500-600 of them to hungry customers.
Oh, and Hawaiian malasadas? According to Leite, those don’t count. “It’s a donut,” he says, noting that the Hawaiian version is filled with Bavarian cream or jelly. “A traditional malasada is not filled.” Nor is it covered with powdered sugar or cinnamon. “That’s a doughboy.”
“A malasada is different,” Leite continues. “Different feeling, differing texture. When you finish one, you want another.”
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