American Indian Culture Assimilation & Activism
American Indian Recipes
"Every food, as well as the physical acts of growing, preparing, and eating it, has a spiritual dimension. Tools for food preparation--from woven wheat plaques for carrying and serving bread, to polished baking stones, to yucca sieves, to polished baking stones, to carved stirring sticks--are infused with a sense of the divinity of man's relationship to nature, a direct link to his immediate natural surroundings. Hogans are constructed with forked posts that are blessed with corn pollen. Colored cornmeals and corn pollens are used to ritually bless sacred objects and participants, as well as in preparing sacred ceremonial breads."
-Beth Hensberger, Breads of the Southwest
Traditional Fry Bread
1 pkg. dry yeast
3 cups warm water
1 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
6 cups flour
2 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup cornmeal
Dissolve yeast in warm water then add salt and sugar. Let stand for 5 minutes covered with a towel. Add flour and oil to liquid mixture. Mix and put on floured bread board and knead until mixture is smooth. Put dough in a greased bowl, cover with towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours. Remove from bowl and put on bread board, knead in the 1/2 cornmeal. Make dough into 2 balls rolling each into 12 inch circles 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch squares and drop into hot cooking oil. (Works best with cast iron skillet.) Fry 5 to 6 pieces at a time for only a few moments. Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with white powdered sugar.
Choctaw Hunters Stew
2 lbs. deer meat
2 tbsp. beef suet
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 to 8 carrots
3 ribs celery
2 lg. onions
2 lg. potatoes
1 lg. can tomatoes
1 lg. can whole kernel corn
Cut the meat into bite-size pieces and brown in suet then add the salt and pepper, cover with water and cook until done. In the meantime, prepare the vegetables and cut into bite-size pieces. Add these to the tender meat and simmer until done. This is very good served with cornbread or fry bread.
Tumbleweed Chowder
1 lb Young tumbleweed shoots
Water to cover
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Jalapeno pepper
1/2 Diced smoked ham
Wash the plants and chop them up real fine and put in a saucepan with enough water to barely cover. Salt and pepper to taste. I added a little fresh chopped jalapeno pepper to mine but that's optional. Throw in about 1/2 cup of finely diced smoked ham chunks, cover with lid and simmer until the tumbleweed is tender. Then you can run it all through a blender or food processor to puree. You should have a thick soup as an end result that tastes very well. I've tried it using bacon instead of ham and it's ok but I prefer ham. If you want a chunkier soup you don't have to puree it.