~Some of my favorite Native recipes. I will be regularly updating this section, so look for more...!~
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FRY BREAD
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
Deep hot fat in fry pan or fryer
Sift dry ingredients. Lightly stir in milk. Add more flour as necessary to make a dough you can handle. Kneed
and work the dough on a floured board with floured hands until smooth. Pinch off fist-sized limps and shape into
a disk. For Indian tacos, the disk must be rather flat, with a depression in the center of both sides, and
usually if it's going to have sauce over it. Fry in fat (about 375 degrees) until golden and done on both sides,
about 5 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
Deep hot fat in fry pan or fryer
Sift dry ingredients. Lightly stir in milk. Add more flour as necessary to make a dough you can handle. Kneed
and work the dough on a floured board with floured hands until smooth. Pinch off fist-sized limps and shape into
a disk. For Indian tacos, the disk must be rather flat, with a depression in the center of both sides, and
usually if it's going to have sauce over it. Fry in fat (about 375 degrees) until golden and done on both sides,
about 5 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.
INDIAN TACOS
Hamburger version:
Sauce:
1 lb hamburger
1 large onion minced
2 small cans tomato paste
1 big can tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
salt, pepper, Chile powder to taste
Topping:
1 head iceberg lettuce shredded
1/2 lb cheese grated coarse
On the counter:
bowl of fine-chopped onion
bowl of mild green chilies chopped up fine
Fry onion and hamburger broken up loose. Sprinkle some salt and
Chile powder over it. Add tomato paste and 4 cans of water and the
canned tomatoes and their juice -- break up tomatoes and stir it
around. Taste for seasoning. Simmer till meat and onions are done and
sauce is thick, 30 - 40 minutes. When ready to serve, put the flat fry bread on
a paper plate and spread sauce over it (don't be stingy). Put a handful
of cheese on it and top with a handful of shredded lettuce. People add
their own choices of chopped raw onion, chilies (and maybe some other
favorites) from the bowls. In some areas, the culture favors the
addition of hot chilies to this sauce.
Hamburger version:
Sauce:
1 lb hamburger
1 large onion minced
2 small cans tomato paste
1 big can tomatoes
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
salt, pepper, Chile powder to taste
Topping:
1 head iceberg lettuce shredded
1/2 lb cheese grated coarse
On the counter:
bowl of fine-chopped onion
bowl of mild green chilies chopped up fine
Fry onion and hamburger broken up loose. Sprinkle some salt and
Chile powder over it. Add tomato paste and 4 cans of water and the
canned tomatoes and their juice -- break up tomatoes and stir it
around. Taste for seasoning. Simmer till meat and onions are done and
sauce is thick, 30 - 40 minutes. When ready to serve, put the flat fry bread on
a paper plate and spread sauce over it (don't be stingy). Put a handful
of cheese on it and top with a handful of shredded lettuce. People add
their own choices of chopped raw onion, chilies (and maybe some other
favorites) from the bowls. In some areas, the culture favors the
addition of hot chilies to this sauce.
WOJAPE
(Modern day):
Well,
you take about a pound of expensive bittersweet chocolate, shave it and melt it
in a little coffee with a tablespoon of butter stirred in. Keep it warm in a
fondue pot over a little burner for the pot. Add about a quart of delicious
little red-all-through wild strawberries, chilled. And one fondue fork per
person. Swirl a berry in the chocolate. Other bland, crisp fruits can stretch
the berries if you don't have enough, like apple slices (Green Granny Smith) or
pear slices. Sprinkle these slices with lemon juice so they won't turn brown.
Using small cubes, (1 inch or less) of Fry or French bread (especially crust),
is also good.
SWEET BLACKBERRY BLUE CORN TAMALE
Try to get blue corn masa harina for this; white or yellow will do, but blue looks prettier. Don't use ordinary corn meal; masa harina is treated with lime water and cooks differently. If you have dried corn husks, you can steam the tamales in them, otherwise use aluminum foil.
Tamale dough: 3/4 cup strained blackberry puree 1/4 cup water 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup or molasses 1 cup blue corn masa harina 2 tablespoons softened butter 1 tsp fresh lemon juice 8 big dry husks, or 10" aluminum foil squares
Filling: 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or black walnuts 2 tablespoons maple candy rolled into crumbs OR 2 tablespoons almond paste Topping: 3/4 cup sour cream, do not use yogurt 1/4 cup whipping cream 1 tsp vanilla 1 tsp almond extract 2 cups fresh blackberries "De-stemmed" and washed 2 TBS sugar
Bring puree, water, sugar and molasses to a boil. Whisk in masa harina and stir mixture over low heat at a slow-popping bubble for 10 minutes. Stir in butter and lemon juice off heat. Mixture should be a firm, dry dough-not sticky, not crumbly. Roll and pat dough into 8 squares on the foil or husks, leaving 1-inch edge margin at the sides and slightly more at the ends (to tie up or twist-fold closed). Use about 4 tbs per tamale. The dough should be about 1/2 inch thick or less. Now lay out a row of filling along the long center of the tamale (parallel to long sides of husk if used). Fold up each edge around it to meet in the middle -- a fat rectangle, rather than a roll -- and press edges of tamale closed at ends and top. Fold up and tie husk ends (if using), or fold up and seal shut foil. Steam tamales for 10 minutes in a steamer or wok. While steaming, whip cream, starting with whipping cream and adding sour cream, form soft peaks, add sugar and flavorings. Remove tamales, cool slightly, open them up and put on big serving plates. Pour a little juice from berries (if some has formed) over each tamale, top with some berries (1/4 cup each) and the cream, saving a few berries to garnish each dish.
