Indian Tacos from Tucson, AZ

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Indian Tacos

Almost a year ago I was in a car navigating south on Route 66 from Chicago, heading to Tucson, AZ. My trusty red Honda brought me, my boyfriend, and a car full of books and clothes to a town where neither of us had roots. We wanted to get to know the Southwest, and one year later the differences are still novel to me--rattlesnakes, palm trees, saguaro cacti, slow talkers, and pink houses. This is not the land I grew up in and I still sometimes gawk at the contrasts.

According to the 2000 census, a quarter of Arizona’s land is occupied by Native American reservations. It’s striking to realize the absence of Native American presence in other places I’ve lived, compared to here. Still, the hints I see of native cultures highlight how little I know about them. The basic facts I’ve gleaned are these. The reservations of the Pascua Yaqui and the Tohono O’odham nations are closest to Tucson. Both the Yaqui and the Tohono O’odham have been living in southern Arizona since this land belonged to Mexico. Also, Indian tacos are delicious.

Let me introduce you to the Indian taco if you haven’t met. You can spot people eating them at festivals around town, wrapped in tinfoil and piled high with cheddar cheese. The base is a piece of frybread—a traditional native staple. On top, beans, chiles, cheese, lettuce, meat, and tomatoes. A taco and yet not a taco. I think of it as a simple testament to the fact that food is not constrained by borders. More importantly, it’s really delicious. I am always impressed with vehicles for different toppings. I tried my hand at this one with guidance from Foods of the Southwest Indian Nations, by Lois Ellen Frank, which I found in the Arizona Collection at the downtown public library.

Frybread

4 cups flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups warm water

Vegetable oil for frying

Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Gradually stir in the water until the dough

becomes soft and pliable without sticking to the bowl.

Knead the dough on a li

ghtly floured surface or in the bowl for 5 minutes, folding the outer edges of the dough toward the center.

Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a towel, and let rest for 30 minutes to allow it to rise.

Shape the dough into egg-sized balls and then use your hands to stretch it out to a thickness of ½ inch (or thinner, for crispier bread). Put the do

ugh between your hands and pat it from hand to hand like you would if you were making a tortilla or pizza dough, until it stretches to 8-12 inches in diameter.

With your finger poke a small hole in the center of each piece, to prevent bursting during frying. Fry the dough in hot oil and cook until the dough turns golden brown and puffs. Turn over each piece with two forks and cook the other side. Serve immediately. Makes about 16 frybreads.

I found making frybread to be satisfyingly tactile. If you like

slapping and slamming dough around, you will love this. You get to do it sixteen times! Our early frybreads were much too thick, so make sure the d

ough is as thin as you can make it without tearing it.

We made beans to put on top of our frybreads that were adapted, again, from a recipe by Lois Ellen Frank.

2 ½ canned pinto beans (or 1 cup dry beans)

¾ cup vegetable or chicken stock

6 whole red chiles de arbol

1 teaspoon finely chopped chile pequin

1 onion

Chop and sauté onions. Once onions have browned, add pinto beans and stock. Add chiles and bring pot to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn heat down and let the beans simmer until almost all the liquid is gone.

All credit to the distinctive taste of these beans is due to these chiles. Do not be intimidated by inexperience with these! Chiles de arbol are easy to find in most grocery stores, dried. Chile pequin are easier to fi

nd in the Southwest, I think, but you can omit them and this would still be delicious. Chiles de arbol have a nice warm aftertaste, rather than a burning spiciness like that of say, a jalepeno. I am newly enamored with them. I’d say this recipe is medium spicy, so if you have a mild palate, use less chiles.

Layer your frybread with beans, onions, cheese, lettuce, salsa, and whatever else you like. They’re hearty to eat and nice to look at. Eat up, wherever you are.