how do i do "navaja bread"

hello
i am a 23 year old guy from germany. i've been to the US a couple of years ago and ate some specialty called "navajo bread" which obviously is some native americans food. maybe some of you already heard of that and i found some recipes via using google but i'm still not satisfied with the results. In Arizona it was used to be served with vegetables like beans, corn, lettuce and so on. unfortunately i'm not able to find such any more.

would be grateful if you can help me...

regards

Thorsten

Hi and welcome,
I did a search and found this wonderful site--
Navajo Fry Bread History and Recipe, Indian Tacos History and Recipe,
I actually grew up in Navajo country and sort of remember the bread at fairs, etc. At that time I didn't think about it being a baking powder or yeast recipe?
Where were you? that might help us narrow it down?
The one in that site is baking powder.
I am in Alaska now and the Indians here do a fry bread with yeast or sourdough.
I love Indian tacos!!!
Nan

Me too, Nan. I love my former breakfast cook- Paula's- fry-bread. She was a Tlinket from Hoonah and her's was outstanding!

Welcome Thorston!

hey i've been to the grand canyon, to more more accurate, canyon de chelly, chinle. maye u'be heard of this tiny town or whatever that it^^

regards

Wow- you've seen more than I have here, Thorston! I am 42 years old- but have not ever seen the Grand Canyon. I hope to one day, though.

I live in a small farming area 3 hours south of Chicago. And I lived for 13 years in Alaska- where we saw MANY German tourists!

Our great group here has Americans from many regions, ranging from New York to Mississippi and many places inbetween like Illinois, Kentucky and Georgia...

well i've never been to alaska althou this is a fabulous state!
1995 and 2005 i had US trips. so i twice saw the grand canyon (2005 i went down to phantom ranch), las vegas, new york, new orleans, washington, the bryce canyon, petrified forrest, monument valley and other country stuff like yellowstone park and so on.. i love the western states like arizona...
and so i encountered this navajo fry bread

Hi Gazpacho and welcome to SpicePlace!!! Sounds like that Navajo fry bread left quite a lasting impression on you!!! I hope when you make it that it will turn out perfect for you and taste just as good as the first you ever had over here in America! You sure are a world traveler I must say, geepers You Have seem some of the best of America!!! I hope you will come back some day soon and see more of our lovely country!

I have cousins that are German and live in Germany, I wish I could visit them and see Germany but it looks as though that will not happen any time soon. Their last name is Schnell, and the Dad is a brain surgeon. When John visited us from Germany he left such a great impression on my children, he even gave them a little steam engine toy made in Germany that operates with Sterno and they cherish that little toy! It was so well made!

Keep coming back to Spice Place and enjoying our little on-line community!

Cathy

hey, thanks for your nice words

i think when traveling through america (in particular the usa) it is important to see many places which distinguish in themselves (i hope u know what i wanna say, sry for bad english).... That shall mean, the modern west and east coast like los angeles and new york etc.,as well as the rural, country regions which definitely are really great. love cody, the badlands, these canyons, the really high temperatures (in arizona ) and the whole atmosphere. (hey, i forgot to say, that i could barely find dr. pepper and root beer in large cities but in small western areas (like kingman and flagstaff).
ok i think we got into off topic ^^

Looks as if this fry bread is just a biscuit dough flattened like a tortilla and fried in oil or shortening. I would think that when the Navajo originally made it with such short rations, maybe they just fermented the dough or made a starter, then made a dough with the fermented dough or starter and just added more flour and a bit of salt, maybe even corn meal, kneaded the heck out of it then shaped and fried. I can't see with such limited resources, the original fry bread having leavening agents like baking powder or soda. I'm also thinking that even sugar was a rare commodity.

I spent 4 years in Germany Gazpacho. I would say the names of the many towns and cities I have been to but spelling them is another story. If you have a good Wiener Schnitzel recipe, the breaded pork or veal cutlet? I would greatly appreciate a posting of it if you have one.

You are so right Gizpacho about the diversity of our seperate coasts, I agree with you though that you really must see both and everything in between! I loved Flagstaff, AZ and Tempe, AZ but the two although in the same state are about as different as day and night!
And of-course our state parks are each so unique! That is funny about the Rootbeer and Dr. Pepper! I like small towns best! A really neat small town here in the state of Georgia is called Helen, it is a touristy little Alpine Village setting and unique. My family used to vacation up there long before it bacame a tourist trap!

We get "off-topic" here all the time it is fine, we are not "fuddy-duddy" sticklers for what is supposedly "Proper"! It is fun to hear your opinions on the places you visited! Where you thought the Badlands were neat, I thought they truly were awful and I despised Mount Rushmore, and South Dakota! I did not like the country side at all, and yet I had a sister who lived in South Dakota many year and loved it, I thought it was so barren and just a gosh-awful landscape. I appreciate GREEN countryside and am not into anything devoid of grass and lush tropical greenery!!! I even love rain on a warm summer day! That was one thing I missed the most out in California!

@The Ironic Chef: to be frankly i am a terrible cook ^^ i'm a student and i don't take time to improve my cooking skills but i love the american food, altohugh i can hardly understand how ppl can consume eggs or pancakes with syrup in the morning (i hate eggs )
but i'll check and ask around if can get an original wiener schnitzel recipe just hang on...

@Cook Chatty Cathy: its cool that we can talk so freely about other topics disregarding the original one
haha, well i've been to los angelels in 1995 (sry for asking but this is really getting on my nerves: is it "ive been to ... in 1995" or "i was there.... in 1995"? )
unfortunately i was too young to explore the city.. well yet i've been to downtown hehe. Actually I have no clue why I love the country site. I reckon that the reason is the climate, the spectacular nature and the endless highways

Gazpacho,

Either way you want to say you have been to Los Angeles back in 1995 is fine! It is a matter no importance gramatically!

I was there in the 1990-1992 and my best memories were of all the lovely restaurants!!! I also liked the Griffith Observatory and the Zoo and a place called San Pedro and an Island called Catalina, there was also a terrific little beach called Redondo Beach and lots of fireworks on the weekend being launched from the Queen Mary, it was a spectacular place, yet I would never live there again! We have a member here named CanMan who lives in LA. It's a great place to visit. Too bad you did not get to see as much of it as you would have liked.

You are very fortunate to have done such travels when you were young! Not many people are as fortunate as you!

You know I have a fear now of flying into foreign countries (since 9/11) and that is a darn shame. But thankfully the United States are diverse enough in terrain that you can live and travel right here without being bored!

When you ate the Navajo bread were you visitig the Navajo Reservation? There are Native Indian Villages spread out over all our States, from the tip of Florida (The Seminole & Miccosukee Indians) to the top of Washington State (The Chinook and Spokane Indians) it is so interesting to visit the Villages or Reservations and if you happen to get to eat their native foods in the process how lucky for you! Not too far from where I live is a Cherokee Indian Reservation and it is nice to visit there! My kids loved it!

Well I had best go!

Cathy

hey
when i was in LA i also visited redondo beach. there was a place where girls were skating and boys were showing their muscular body ^^ it was kinda promenade. i guess this was redondo beach? whatever....
actually i love traveling but now that i'm a student i can't possibly afford any of these vacations. i don't care flying tho i don't like these looooong flights. it takes approx. 9 hours from hamburg (germany) to vegas..
yeah, i think we visited this reservation. this bread was really delicious but i NEVER was able to ate the whole stuff.. its so darn filling
when driving on the highways we often saw little indian groups gathered together on the site and they sold some handcrafted things

So what University are you attending and what are your studies? If you don't mind sharing of-course. I understand how you seldom cook but are you interested in becoming a cook in time?

sry for responding so late.

i'm attending a technical university in brunswick in germany. I'm studying engineering-economic.

yeah, actually i really like good food, but cooking is soooo time consuming
often i just visit our cafeteria and they make good chicken with french fries, but i can't see that anymore haha

hey, would you mind continuing the conversation?

Gazpacho said:

hey
when i was in LA i also visited redondo beach. there was a place where girls were skating and boys were showing their muscular body ^^ it was kinda promenade. i guess this was redondo beach? whatever....

Click to expand...

Probably Venis Beach and the boardwalk.
BEACH CAM - Live webcam from Venice Beach, California

yeah exactly
there they sold some luscious candy stuff.. sticks... they looked like straws, 12 or so of them together. i don't know what they were called.. i think they won't sell them anymore

Wow CanMan neat Beach Cam I see the FOG Venice Beach Board Walk, is that where they had the Roller Coaster and other rides? It was really neat and so much fun! I just remember Redondo Beach as the spot where we used to play VolleyBall!

I think it is cool that you are in Tech. University Gazpacho! I bet it is interesting!

So are you interested in learning in time how to cook? Did your Mom ever let you help out in the kitchen growing up? And do you remember enjoying it? My boys both love to cook now that they are grown and have families of their own! The more you do it the easier and more fun it becomes! Let us know if you are interested in learning! I believe if you ever cook something and it turns out good, you will feel encouraged and inspired to learn more and cooking will become fun and not so much a chore! Especially since you are so busy with school and all!