50 States of MoFo: New Mexico: Navajo Tacos

Navajo Tacos are composed of a wide variety of toppings on frybread.   Frybread was invented when the US government forcibly relocated many Navajo people to New Mexico in 1864.  The government gave the Navajos flour, salt, sugar, and lard, and they found a way to make bread from these provisions.  It is more or less a large disk of deep fried biscuit.  Frybread has become popular in many states, and is the official state bread of South Dakota.  However, it started in New Mexico.

While the history is sad, the food is good.  We used the very fine recipe for "Indian Fry Bread Tacos" in Michael Natkin's Herbivoracious.  The completely delicious topping picks up many Native American notes with its use of beans, corn, and squash (the "three sisters").  Natkin's book is vegetarian, but vegan options are clearly marked, and many recipes (like this one) can be easily veganized.  This recipe only involved trading out the dairy milk and cheese in favor of nondairy equivalents.