Traditional Foods

Traditional foods historically were made with what was native to the area and involved very little of any spices or seasoning. Yeast and sugar were not readily available. In Montana, a traditional meal may have included buffalo or deer meat, either fresh or dried, Pemakin, made with crushed chokecherries, and boiled “wild turnips” (Indian Breadroot – Psora’lea casto’rea) made into soup. The bulb of this plant was also dried, then ground into a flour to make unleavened bread. Wild Plum pudding may have been served at the end of the meal if it was a good plum year.

A Montana family recipe for fry bread and Indian tacos is included on this webpage. Other Native American recipes from all over the United States can be found on the Recipe Source website.

Fry Bread and Indian Tacos

(Serves 4-6)

Fry Bread

1 cup water – warm (not boiling)
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
1 egg
3 Tablespoon oil
3 cups flour (more or less)
Additional oil for frying

Add water, yeast and sugar together. Let set 5 minutes. Mix together then add remaining ingredients. Turn dough out on floured surface and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is elastic. (If dough is sticky add a little more flour.) Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Heat oil in pan or “fry daddy” until it is very hot. Punch dough down. Dough can be rolled to one-fourth to one-half inch thickness. I prefer to take a small ball of dough then flatten and pull it until it reaches the desired thickness. Circular shape should be approximately 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Place in hot oil, fry until bottom is golden brown, flip over and fry the other side until golden brown. Remove from oil and place on paper towels.

(For fast dough, frozen bread dough can be purchase at the grocery store. Follow package directions for thawing and raising, then following the above steps for rolling/pulling and frying.)

Indian Tacos

For tacos, top with your favorite taco ingredients such as chili, taco meat, beans, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions, taco sauce, sour cream, and so forth.

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