Fry Bread The Navajo Taco Fry Bread Recipe

Fry Bread Navajo Taco's

 

[caption id="attachment_984" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Fry Bread Navajo Taco Click To Enlarge"][/caption]

Many years ago I used to live in Los Angeles. I lived there for about thirty years and then I got really, really tired of the left coast and I decided to leave the republic for greener pastures and a different attitude. Well, I ended up hitching up and moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico is a state rich in many cultures hailing from Spain, Mexico and the American Indian nations of Navajo, Mescalero Apache and Zuni just to name a couple. All of these cultures are proud of who they are as well they should be.

Soon enough I began to realize that I was not in L.A. anymore and the activities that I was used to for so many years were not available in New Mexico. That was O.K.! I learned to appreciate activities that required me to be outside in nature more in New Mexico than in L.A., Don't get me wrong I spent plenty of time outside in Cali, but that was the beach and the activities in New Mexico were more the hiking and camping type. I learned to love it.

I did find that Albuquerque had swap meets just like L.A. did and I love a good swap meet. So I started going bargain hunting all the time. I even started selling stuff at the swap meet to supplement my income. I took one weekend off from selling at the local swap meet in town and I went to my first Indian swap meet on the Navajo reservation just outside of town. It wasn't like the mega size one at the racetrack in town, it was more native craft like jewelry and paintings and baskets and all manner of artifact and Indian handwork. It was at this Indian swap meet that I first learned about Indian fry bread. Fry bread is fairly common amongst many of the tribes of the Southwestern United States, but it is the fry bread of the Navajo that I am using in my video on this post. Fry bread is also common to many cultures on our little blue planet and I don't really know much about how those recipes came into being, but I do know that even though fry bread is a tradition and a staple of Navajo life that this recipe came with a cost in human suffering, pain and death.

Many years ago in the past in the early part of the 1800's The Navajo tribe would trade goods with other Indian tribes as well as with the Mexicans, the Spanish and even some of the early Americans that showed up in the Southwest in those days. The problem with the mass migration of pioneers is that right behind them was the United States Cavalry. Without getting into a long drawn out history lesson as to  what finally became of the Indians at the hands of the cavalry I think it is safe to say that we all know what happened it was and still is a deplorable thing that happened.

The Navajo was well as other tribes were put into reservations that had mass overcrowding, sickness and disease. Many time the food that the soldiers supplied the Indians in the form of flour, powdered milk, yeast, baking powder and fat/lard were rancid. These foods are the origins of the fry bread and today fry bread is a common food at Indian swap meets, Pow Wows and many other venues.

On the other side of this coin it is a sad fact that these provisions that we supplied the Indians whether they were rancid or by some stroke of luck good to use, these provisions were not part of their true diet and it was these foods that over time led to ailments that have never affected the Native tribes before. The sad fact is that most people today in my opinion don't really understand what is behind each bite of fry bread or each Navajo taco they eat. Truthfully, I was only aware of these facts in a cursory fashion but as time went by and I kept going to the Indian swap meet that I learned these facts because I asked questions. I am glad I did!

On the other side of the planet in a totally different culture the Britons: British, Scottish ate fry bread. They called it "bannock." The recipe for this fry bread or bannock was brought to America by the settlers of the time. It became a staple food for them. It was made with whatever the settlers had on hand, such things as flour, cornmeal, oats or pulverized wheat. Then all you need is some kind of fat like lard, oil, or shortening and then other things like fruit, eggs and syrups were added as well. So when it comes to bannock or fry bread in the early regions there were many types and everyone who made it made it a bit differently and I am sure the descendants of these early British are still making it today as a family tradition.


Navajo Fry Bread Ingredients:

1 cup unbleached flour.
1/2 Tsp. salt.
1 Tsp. powdered milk.
1 1/2 Tsp. baking powder. Use a little more baking powder if you want to make the fry bread rise a bit more that's OK!
1/2 cup water.
Some extra flour in a bowl for you to flour up your hands for mixing the fry bread dough.
vegetable oil for frying.

1. Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl together and whisk them together thoroughly.
2. Pour the water over the dry ingredients and stir them together with a fork until the mixture starts to clump up. I used a whisk in the video and that's OK! to start with but it gets messy when the clumping starts so I have elected to always use the fork in the future.
3. Now while the mixture is still in the bowl flour your hands.
4. Now use your hand or hands and begin rolling the dough or moving it about the bowl to pick up all the excess flour in the bowl to coat the outside of the dough. Don't knead the dough. You want to form a ball that is well floured on the outside and still doughy on the inside. Kneading this dough will make the resulting product heavy and take away from it's flexibility and chew. You want the inside of the dough sticky after the ball is formed.
5. Cut the dough into 4 equal pieces and using your freshly floured hands you can stretch and shape and press the dough into any shape you want. Navajo Taco's do not have to been perfectly round as they are not a perfect dish. If you want to roll the dough into a ball and use a roller for uniformity that is fine to, I have been known to do that as well. Form your pieces into 6 to 7 inch rough diameters or if making balls and using a rolling pin make then into 6/7 inch round diameter pieces.
6. Heat your oil in pan. You want 1/2 inch of oil in the pan minimum. The skillet should be at least a 10 inches. Heat to 350-400 F.
7. Take your formed dough and one at a time gently place the dough into the hot oil and make sure you don't get any splatter.
8. Press your dough down with your spatula or back end of a spoon to make a bowl indentation in your dough and to get the fry bread to submerge in the oil to get some of the hot oil on the top of the dough.
9. Fry each side until golden brown, 3 to 4  minutes per side each stove will be a bit different so check the fry bread a couple of times.
10. The fry bread you make will stay warm in your oven while you make the filling. I cover mine and put it in my microwave and they stay nice and soft. Then when it comes time to put the whole thing together I just nuke the fry bread for about 10-15 seconds and you are good to go!

11. Now this recipe will make 3 to 4 fry breads and in the video I made 4. This is OK if you want to eat your Navajo Taco open faced. I made a second batch late last night just to try out a theory and found that taking this recipe and and instead of cutting the dough into 4 pieces that if you cut it into 2 pieces you can get a really nice large 8 inch plus diameter depending on how thin you want to make the dough pieces and with them being this large you will be able to load them up and then fold them up for an ultimate Navajo Taco that is just amazing! I tested this last night at about 11p.m. and by midnight my tummy was nice and full and I discovered the Jumbo Navajo Taco!

Navajo Taco Filling:

1 Lb lean ground beef. I used 80/20.
1 cup diced onion.
1 15 1/2 can black beans rinsed.
1/2 cup kernel corn fresh or frozen.
1/2 to 1 head iceberg lettuce shredded.
2 tomatoes seeded and diced. I used fresh plum tomatoes.
2 cups shredded cheese either Cheddar or Jack. I used Cheddar, Jack and Asadero combo shreds.
1 3oz can of chopped green chilies.
1Tbsp. garlic granules.
1Tbsp. crushed Mexican Oregano.
1 Tbsp. cumin.
1 Tbsp. New Mexico Chili powder.
Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet with med/high heat brown your meat and onions. When the meat is 50% done and the onions are translucent add your black beans and corn and mix. Just before the filling is done you can add your garlic, oregano, cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper into the skillet and mix. You can choose to add the diced chilies to the skillet while cooking or you can add them to the taco with the rest of the fillings. I put the chilies into the skillet with the meat and onions.

When the filling is done get your fry breads from the oven if you are keeping them warm in there or nuke them for 10-15 seconds in the mircowave and then they will be good to then put them on plates and spoon on the fillings from the skillet and then add your lettuce, tomato, cilantro, cheese and if you want some sour cream which is optional. Serve and enjoy with a cold beer or whatever you want to drink and enjoy!