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Navajo Fry Bread
An easy bread recipe, Navajo Fry Bread is delightful as a savoury or sweet snack. Or make Indian Taco and enjoy it as a main meal. This bubbly fry bread requires just a few ingredients. Don’t have to knead the dough like we do for normal breads.
What Is Navajo Fry Bread?
It is the traditional deep fried bread of the Navajo People in America. According to the Navajo tradition, fry bread was created from the ingredients ( flour, lard, sugar, salt) given by the US government when the natives were relocated to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico from Arizona in 1864. It is quite easy to find Navajo (pronounced as Nava -ho) Fry Bread at fairs, carnivals in most parts of US, especially the south.
A variety of toppings, both savoury and sweet are enjoyed with this fry bread. Some suggestions are sugar and cinnamon, honey butter,fruits, cheese, eggs, or go for the Indian Taco. Minced meat and beans are topped on the bread and enjoyed with lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes.
I will share with you a Vegetarian version of the Indian Taco and a sweet topping using Navajo Fry Bread. The sweet one tastes so much like the famous Canadian Beaver Tails. Nope, we don’t fried beaver tails! The yeast dough is flattened out to resemble a beaver tail. Like the Navajo Fry Bread it is deep fried. Savoury and sweet topping are added.
Memories
It was my eldest son’s birthday. And what better way to celebrate it then by making something new from a different part of the world. The previous day we searched online for a recipe that is not Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern….you know the more famous ones. My son came across the recipe for Navajo Fry Bread. After going through a few, we settled on the easiest authentic one. And we decided to enjoy the fry bread as Indian Tacos. In this context ‘Indian’ as not India but Native Americans. We went for a vegetarian version, by omitting ground beef.
I made the recipe twice after that and posted the recipe on my blog on 15/03/2013. That was after a whole year since we made it for my son’s birthday. And then, I totally forgot about this post. It happens when you have over 1000 recipes! I’ve been blogging since 2012. How did I remember this recipe? Well, read on.
Sunday Funday
The reason this recipe came back to life is because of the theme suggested by Amy who blogs at Amy’s Cooking Adventures. When she suggested we make Navajo Recipes for Navajo Code Talkers Day, I remembered I had the fry bread recipe on my blog. It was revival time.
As a student I didn’t like history. I loved knowing what happened but remembers dates, years, etc for exams was a nightmare for me. I hate numbers so remembering dates and years was like a mental block! But now that I don’t have to sit for exams, I love reading about history from different parts of the world. And reading about Navajo Code Talkers was very interesting. Thank Amy for sharing the link with us.
A Brief History Of Navajo Code Talkers
It is celebrated on 14th August to honour the contributions by the Navajo marines during World War II. They encoded and transmitted messages in a complex Navajo language-based code. This vital style of communication between them and the US Marines. In 1942, US Marines finding in the Pacific needed an unbreakable code, one that the Japanese could not decipher. Philip Johnston, the son of a missionary who grew up in the Navajo Nation suggested using the Navajo Language as a code. Nearly 400 Navajo men were recruited. The Navajo Code Talkers successfully transmitted more than 800
messages without error and helped the U.S. win the war.Check Out How Other Members Are Celebrating Navajo Code Talkers Day
- Fried Green Tomatoes by Sneha’s Recipe
- Lamb, Summer Squash, Bean, and Corn Soup by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Marinated Venison Steaks by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Navajo Fry Bread by Mayuri’s Jikoni
- Squash Blossom & White Corn Soup by Amy’s Cooking Adventures
- Summer Zucchini Blossom Soup by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
Ingredients Required For Navajo Fry Bread
Flour – all purpose flour/maida/ plain flour.
Baking Powder – as the leavening agent.
Salt – add according to your taste.
Oil – any vegetable oil to add to the dough. It makes the bread a bit soft. Also need some for deep frying.
Water – add warm water.
Ingredients Required For The Vegetarian Topping:
Beans – cooked red or black beans.
Onion – peeled and chopped. Can use white, red or yellow onion.
Garlic – peeled and finely chopped.
Tomato Puree – fresh tomatoes pureed. Or use passata or canned tomato puree.
Paprika Powder – add according to your taste.
Cayenne Powder – add according to your taste.
Cumin Powder – adds a good flavour.
Salt – add according to your taste.
Water – if the tomato puree is thick you may need to add a little water.
Cilantro/Fresh Coriander -finely chopped, adds flavour.
Ingredients Required For Avocado Corn Salsa
Avocado – peel, remove the seed and chop.
Tomato – if the tomato is small then use 2. Otherwise one large is enough.
Sweet Corn – frozen, canned or fresh. I boiled fresh corn and removed the kernels off the cob.
Spring Onion – I used spring onion as I had some in the fridge. Can replace it with red, yellow or white onion.
Cilantro/Fresh Coriander – washed and chopped.
Jalapeno – I used half as the jalapeno was a bit hot.
Lime/Lemon Juice – sprinkle it over the avocado as soon as it cut it. This prevents the avocado from turning black.
Garlic – I added one clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped. Omit if you want to.
Salt – add according to your taste.
Pepper Powder – add according to your taste.
Other Ingredients For Topping:
Olives – any of your choice. Slice them. Can omit adding them.
Sour Cream – or use guacamole.
Cheese – can use cheddar, feta or any of your choice.
Ingredients Required For The Sweet Version
Honey or Maple Butter – I had some maple butter so that is what I used. For honey butter, you simply mix a bit of honey and butter.
Powdered Sugar – confectioners sugar, icing sugar. To sprinkle on the fried bread.
INGREDIENTS :
4 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons powdered milk
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 cup shortening
Extra flour to flour your hands
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