I grew up in Southern California, eating tacos made with fried corn tortillas. These are still a huge favorite of mine. But I must say, I’m also a fan of Indian tacos. Here in Oklahoma the Native American culture runs deep and Indian Tacos are part of that. I’ve had them numerous times but had never made them myself until last night. Trust me, that won’t be the last time!
Indian Tacos
Indian tacos begin with delicious fry bread. I made mine pretty much like The Pioneer Woman does. She has lots of lovely photos detailing the process. I, on the other hand, managed to set off the smoke alarm resulting in a call from our security company and scaring poor Shiloh half to death. So…if you want photos of the actual frying process, take a look at her post.
Indian Fry Bread:
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
- fat for frying (I recommend coconut oil or lard)
Instructions
- Mix dry ingredients in mixing bowl.
- Add milk slowly while stirring.
- Add water a little at a time until dough comes together.
- Cover with clean dishtowel and let rest about half an hour or 45 minutes.
- When ready to fry, heat fat over medium high heat.
- Pinch off egg-size piece of dough, flatten and stretch, working from the center outward.
- Carefully place in hot fat, fry until golden brown on one side, gently turn over with tongs and cook another 30 seconds or until the other side is golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels.
After you’ve fried all the dough (and turned off the shrieking smoke alarm), assemble the Indian tacos. Last night I used cooked ground beef seasoned with garlic salt, Creole seasoning, chili powder, cumin and black pepper. You could also substitute cooked beans or chili in place of the ground beef.
Top a warm, cooked piece of fry bread with meat, grated cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, green onions and hot sauce (or salsa, if you prefer). Then give thanks for Taco Tuesday!
For more information:
Back when Thomas was in high school, I went on a Mission trip to the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation. I don’t remember if it was a festival of some kind, or if they were doing it strictly for our group, but there was this Native woman sitting on the floor with a big pile of dough in front of her, and she was pinching off pieces, flattening them and throwing them in a good sized cauldron of bubbling fat. Another woman was sitting in a chair, with a pair of tongs, turning them over and pulling them out and putting them on a paper plate which she passed to another woman who then poured either red or green chili sauce over them, handed them to us, and then they had a “toppings” bar. The red chili sauce had ground beef in it, and the green had chicken and cheese in it. I have never before or since eaten anything that tasted as good to me as that green chile Indian Taco, nor have I ever seen anyone as efficient as those three woman were!!
Ooh, green chile and chicken sounds delicious! I’ll have to do that next time.
I was going to ask you about the Indian tacos. Guess I don’t need to now. Thanks! 🙂
You’re welcome. 🙂