Indian Tacos with Yeast Fry Bread

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Description

My cousins grew up on a reservation in South Dakota, and this is how we always made our fry bread (with yeast).

Ingredients

  • 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • ¼ cup warm water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 6 cups vegetable oil for frying
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 large onion, minced
  • 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt and ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch chili powder, or to taste
  • ½ pound Cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce, cored and shredded
  • 1 cup finely chopped onion, or as desired
  • 1 cup finely chopped mild green chiles, or as desired

Instructions

  1. Mix yeast
  2. sugar
  3. and 1/4 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl and set aside until the yeast mixture forms a creamy foam layer on top
  4. about 5 minutes. Whisk flour
  5. 1 teaspoon salt
  6. and baking powder in a bowl. Stir flour mixture into yeast mixture by thirds
  7. alternating with 1 cup warm water in thirds
  8. and beat to make a firm dough.
  9. Cut the dough into 6 pieces and roll each piece into a ball on a floured work surface. Roll out the dough balls into flat round tortillas.
  10. Heat vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  11. Gently place tortillas
  12. one at a time
  13. into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides
  14. turning once
  15. 2 to 3 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
  16. Cook and stir ground beef with 1 large minced onion in a skillet over medium heat until the meat is browned and crumbly
  17. about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease and stir in diced tomatoes with their juice
  18. tomato paste
  19. basil
  20. oregano
  21. salt
  22. black pepper
  23. and chili powder. Bring the chili to a boil and reduce heat to low; simmer until thickened
  24. 30 to 40 minutes.
  25. Place a piece of fry bread onto a plate and ladle a generous portion of chili onto the bread. Transfer Cheddar cheese
  26. lettuce
  27. 1 cup finely chopped onion
  28. and mild green chilies into separate bowls and top each portion with about 1 tablespoon of Cheddar cheese and desired amounts of lettuce
  29. onion
  30. and chilies.

Prep Time: 1 hr

Cook Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Servings: 12

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