Back to Mountain Heritage Day. A large part of Appalachian heritage is the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. Officially called the Qualla Boundary, the Cherokee live on the "reservation" where historically, their people were held until the Cherokee were able to buy back the land (and then some, over the years) the was theirs originally. During the time that the Cherokee were held on the reservation, they were given "rations" to survive. One of those rations was flour, which the Cherokee didn't have a great idea of what to do with. This was standard on all Indian Reservations in the 1800's by the way. It lead to the advent of Indian Fry Bread, sometimes called Navajo fry bread (though it certainly wasn't exclusive), which most Native American tribes still serve today.
Once a year, at Mountain Heritage Day, I wait in line for an hour (yes, an hour!) to eat this treat. Preferably served as a "taco". Traditionally served with beef, ranch-style beans, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. This year, I was super excited to see that the Cherokee Fry Bread taco was being served vegetarian style!
So how to make it? Part one...track down a recipe for fry bread. I tried Ree Drummond's recipe on her blog: The Pioneer Woman. (Follow the link for the recipe). It came out amazing! Note: While this recipe is from Oklahoma and uses milk, the Cherokee are often lactose intolerant and do not use milk in their traditional fry bread recipe. But as a home cook...well, go for it. -Also, I didn't have shortening so I used lard.
Part two...figure out the beans....because Ranch-Style beans aren't the easiest thing to find. More on that in a couple of days.
For now...here is a picture of the fry bread I made. You should try it!
Enjoy!
Suzanne
