HEALTHY TRADITIONS:
RECIPES OF OUR ANCESTORS
Assembled by and nutrient analysis completed by:
Janice Goodwin, PhD, RD/LRD, FADA
Judy Hall, MS., RD/LRD
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics
University of North Dakota
Prepared for:
National Center for Native American Aging
at the Center for Rural Health
University of North Dakota
School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Funded by:
Administration on Aging
Grant No. 90-AM-2380
PREFACE
An essential part of any group’s culture is the foods they eat.
The preparation of foods and how they are eaten say much about a
people’s society and the environment in which they lived. This
cookbook is a documentation of some of the foods traditionally
prepared and eaten by some of the tribes of Native Americans. It is
hoped that it will serve as another way of preserving traditional
cultures of Native people.
This cookbook would not be possible without the help of many
people. The editors thank the National Center for Native American
Aging, funded by the Administration on Aging, for supporting this
project. We also appreciate the efforts of the directors of the Senior
Programs on the reservations who took the time to send recipes and
in many cases, several recipes. Finally, we want to recognize the
elders of the tribes who recognized the importance of this project
and shared their recipes; this document would not be possible
without their contributions.
Those who contributed to the development of this cookbook
include:
•
LaVerne Wyaco, Director, Navajo Area on Aging
• Maliseet Elders, Houlton, Maine
This cookbook is a work in progress. If you are interested in
submitting a traditional recipe, please complete the form on page
53 and mail it in. Recipes will also be available on the National
Resource Center on Native American Aging’s web site http://
medicine.nodak.edu/crh
BREADS
Fried Bread
Ingredients:
4 C. flour
2 T. powdered milk
1. T. baking powder
1 ½ C. warm water
1 tsp. salt
lard or shortening
Add baking powder, powdered milk and salt to the flour. Mix
together. Add the water to form dough. Kneed dough until soft but
not sticky. Cover with a cloth and allow to stand for about 15
minutes.
Shape dough into 20 balls then flatten and stretching the dough
with the hands and fingers until the dough is flat and round or it
may be rolled out with a rolling pin.
Melt the shortening about 1 inch deep in a frying pan. Fry the
dough on one side until golden brown, then turn and finish frying.
Servings: 16
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
173
Total fat:
7 g
Carbohydrate:
24 g.
Saturated fat:
3 g
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
3 g
Sodium:
241 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Indian Bread
Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted shortening
3 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
about 1 C. water
Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add enough water to
make a dough that is not too dry or sticky.
Heat the shortening. Add the dough, pat down flat and cook on
both sides until done - about 25 minutes.
Note: The bread can be baked in an oven at 400 degrees F. Bake in
an 8x8x2 pan.
Servings: 9
Tribe: Houlton
Contributor: June Joseph
Nutrient per serving:
Calories:
201
Total fat:
6 g.
Carbohydrate:
32 g.
Saturated fat:
2 g.
Protein:
4 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
2 g.
Sodium:
397 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Indian Fry Bread
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 tsp sugar (optional)
1 cup milk or water
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Heat shortening in deep pan for frying. Mix dry ingredients
thoroughly. Add liquid. Knead batter slightly. Batter can be
rolled out on flowered board and cut in strips or pinched off in
small balls and flattened into shape. Fry, until browned, turning as
needed. Bread will rise with frying.
Servings: 6
Tribe: Ojibwa
Contributor: Ojibwa Seniors
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
415
Total fat:
20 g.
Carbohydrate:
52 g
Saturated fat:
3 g.
Protein:
8 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
11 g
Sodium:
653 mg
Cholesterol:
3 mg.
Pancake/Griddle Cake
Ingredients:
2 ½ cups blue cornmeal
1 tsp salt
½ cup white enriched flour
1 cup water
1 ½ cup canned milk
1 tsp baking powder
Mix the blue cornmeal, salt, baking powder together in a large
bowl. Mix water and milk together. Add the liquid ingredients to
the dry ingredients. Mix together but don’t over mix.
Grease a large skillet and heat. Pour batter on skillet to make a
very thin pancake Cook until brown on both sides.
Notes: Usually served with coffee and mutton stew.
Servings: 10 pancakes
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
170
Total fat:
2 g
Carbohydrate:
34 g.
Saturated fat:
< 1 g
Protein:
5 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
< 1 g
Sodium:
305 mg.
Cholesterol:
3 mg.
Pinon Cakes
Ingredients:
3 C. pinon nuts
1 C. + 2 T. water
½ tsp. salt
3 T. oil
Puree the nuts or chop them and then roll them with a rolling pin to
make a course meal consistency. Add water and salt and blend.
Let the batter sit for an hour at room temperature.
Heat oil in a skillet. Drop batter into oil and form each into a little
cake about 3 inches across. Lower the heat slightly. Brown on
each side.
Servings: 10
Tribe: Cherokee
Notes: These cakes are served either hot or cold.
•
Pinon (pine) nuts are found throughout the southwest
(see Edible Plants).
•
The pinon nuts can also be eaten raw or roasted directly
from the shell; boiled into a gruel, or rolled into balls
and eaten as a delicacy.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
146
Total fat:
13 g
Carbohydrate:
4 g
Saturated fat:
4 g
Protein:
15 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
5 g
Sodium:
678 mg
Cholesterol:
45 mg.
Tortilla
Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp powdered milk
1 ½ cup warm water
Mix flour, baking powder, salt and powdered milk together. Add 1
½ cups warm water and mix to form dough. Knead until dough is
soft but not sticky.
Cover with a cloth and allow to stand for about 15 minutes. Shape
into balls 2 inches across then flatten by patting and stretching the
dough with the hands and fingers until the dough is flat and round
or it may be rolled out by using a rolling pin.
Put flatten dough on a hot grill and let it bake. Tortillas are done
when the edges are brown.
Servings: 20
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
93
Total fat:
0 g.
Carbohydrate:
19 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
144 mg
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Yeast Bread
Ingredients:
6 C. flour
1/3 C shortening
2 tsp. salt
2 ½ C. warm water
3 T. sugar
2 packages dry yeast
2/3 C nonfat dry milk
Mix the flour, salt, sugar and dry milk together. In another bowl
mix the shortening and the warm water. Add the yeast and stir until
yeast is dissolved. Add the dry ingredients and stir, blending well.
Knead 8-10 minutes or until elastic. Cover and let rise until double,
about 1 hour. Make into small rolls or shape into small loaves and
let rise for 15 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes or
until done.
Servings: 48
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
77
Total fat:
2 g
Carbohydrate:
13 g
Saturated fat:
1 g
Protein:
2 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
1 g
Sodium:
103 mg
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
CORN
“Corn is not simply food to the
Indians. To many groups it is the
basis of religion and the symbol of
fertility and beneficence. “Seeds of
Seeds”, “Sacred Mother”, “Blessed
Daughter” and “Giver of Life” are
all appellations by which the sacred
corn food is addressed. Long tales
of how corn came to the Indians
and stories of times when the corn
maidens visited the ancients were
told when the people sat around
the fires at night.”
Helen Walker,
Arikara
Blue Corn
There are several colors of corn including red, blue, pink and black
kernels. Some kernels have bands, spots, or stripes on them as
well. Corn is central to the religions of many Indian tribes and is
especially important for Navajos.
Blue corn is most highly favored by the Navajo’s, Hopi’s and the
Indians of the pueblos. The flavor is considered superior to white
and yellow corn. Its nutritional value is also considered to be
greater as well. Navajos feel that blue corn is important in the diets
of pregnant and nursing women from the onset of labor to the end
of lactation.
Banaha (Corn Shuck Bread)
Ingredients:
2 cups cornmeal
1 tsp baking soda
1 ½ cups hot water
1 tsp salt
corn shucks (boil 10 minutes before using)
Mix the cornmeal, baking soda and salt. Add water until mixture
is stiff enough to handle easily. Form small oblong balls and wrap
in corn shucks. Tie in the middle with corn shuck string. Drop
covered balls into a deep pot of boiling water. Cover and cook 40
minutes. Remove the shucks before serving.
Servings: 4
Tribe: Choctaw (Oklahoma)
Serving suggestions: Serve with gravy and sausage; butter, honey
or syrup; with cooked greens and other vegetables and meats such
as salt meat, pork chops.
History of recipe: This is traditionally served on special occasions:
church meetings, weddings, funerals, Choctaw festivities.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
252
Total fat:
1 g
Carbohydrate:
54 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g
Protein:
6 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g
Sodium:
564 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Bannock
Ingredients:
2 C. cornmeal
½ C. berries
3/4 C. water
1/4 C. oil for frying
5 T. oil
Blend cornmeal water and 5 T. oil. Add the berries.
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Drop the batter by small spoonfuls
into oil. Fry until golden brown and then turn, about 5 minutes per
side. Drain.
Servings: 6
Tribe: Chippewa
Note: traditionally eaten either hot or cold.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
256
Total fat:
13 g
Carbohydrate:
33 g
Saturated fat:
2 g
Protein:
3 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
7 g
Sodium:
14 mg
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Blue Bread
Ingredients:
1 cup juniper ash and 1 cup boiling water
2 C. water
3 ½ cups boiling water
6 cups cornmeal
½ tsp. salt
Mix juniper ash with 1 cup boiling water. Put 3 ½ cups water in a
pot and boil. Strain juniper water into a pot. Add 6 cups blue
cornmeal. Knead until dough is soft but firm. Shape into 30 small
patties. Put on hot skillet. Cook until brown on each side.
Mix salt and 2 C. water. Dip the breads in the salt water.
Servings: 30
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note on serving: Commonly served with coffee and mutton stew.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
53
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate:
19 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
2 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
48 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Blue Corn Bread (Loaf)
Ingredients:
1 cup juniper ash and 1 cup boiling water
3 ½ cups boiling water
6 cups cornmeal
Mix 1 cup juniper ash with 1 cup boiling water. Put 3 ½ cups
water in a pot and boil. Strain juniper water into the boiling water.
Add the blue cornmeal. Remove. Knead until dough is soft but
firm. Shape into 2 or 3 loaves. Bake in hot ashes for 1 hour.
Brush off ashes and serve warm.
Servings: 30 pieces
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
86
Total fat:
<1 g.
Carbohydrate:
19 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
2 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
10 mg.Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Blue Cornmeal Dumplings
Ingredients:
1 cup juniper ash and 1 cup boiling water
3 ½ cups boiling water
6 cups ground blue cornmeal
3 cups water in separate pot
Mix juniper ash and 1 cup boiling water. Boil water in a large pot.
Strain juniper ashes into the water and stir. Add blue cornmeal and
remove from heat. Knead until dough is soft but firm. Shape the
dough into small thumb size balls.
Put 3 cups water in a big pot and boil. Add dough to boiling water
and stir. Dough will make its own gravy. Serve hot.
Servings: 30 dumplings
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per dumpling:
Calories:
101
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate:
21 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
2 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
3 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Blue Corn Mush (Taa’niil, Tanaashgiizh)
Ingredients:
1 cup juniper ash prepared with 1 cup water
3 cups boiling water
4 cups blue cornmeal
Mix 1 cup juniper ash with 1 cup boiling water. Strain ashes into
the boiling water and stir. Add 4 cups of blue cornmeal and stir.
Boil for 30 minutes, stirring constantly. Take off heat and stir.
Servings: 16
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note: Commonly eaten with fried bread.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
110
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate:
23 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
2 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
12 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Cornmeal Mush/Porridge (Taa’niil)
Ingredients:
4 cups cornmeal
3 cups boiling water
½ cup wheat sprouts
1 cup juniper ash with
1 cup boiling water
Mix cornmeal into 3 cups boiling water. Stir and mix well,
removing all lumps. Add small amounts of wheat sprouts until
sweetened. Add 1 tbsp of juniper ash at a time until mush /
porridge thickens. The mush is then set outside to chill overnight.
The mush is ready when the mush/porridge turns into a frozen
jello- like pudding.
Servings: 15
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note: This mush is only made during the winter months when
temperatures are very cold.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
142
Total fat:
1 g
Carbohydrate:
30 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g
Sodium:
4 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Corn Bread or Johnny Cakes
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup water or 1 cup water + ½ cup dry milk
3 tbsp sugar
3 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 egg
1/4 cup melted shortening
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg and
cornmeal. Combine water and melted shortening. Pour into flour
mixture and stir just enough to moisten dry ingredients. Do not
beat. Pour into well-greased 8x8x2 inch baking pan. Bake at 425
degrees F for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Servings: 9
Tribe: Maliseet
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
175
Total fat:
7 g.
Carbohydrate:
26 g.
Saturated fat:
2 g.
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
2 g.
Sodium:
460 mg.
Cholesterol:
21 mg.
Ground Cake
Ingredients:
50 lb. stone ground yellow cornmeal
50 lb. stone ground whole wheat flour
12 lb. coarsely strong ground sprouted wheat
1 large pail of simmering water
10 lb. brown sugar
5 lb. raisins
1 basketful of corn husks
Mix the cornmeal and wheat flour. Add the water, handfuls at a
time, stirring constantly. Stir the cornmeal mixture with stirring
sticks (‘adistsiin), removing all lumps. Add the sugar sparingly,
until all the cornmeal is used. Add the wheat sprouts and raisins.
Soak the corn husks.
Dig a pit in the ground about 1 yard across and 10 inches deep.
Build a fire in the pit. When the pit is thoroughly heated, remove
the hot coals. Line the pit with several layers of pre-soaked corn
husks. Pour the mush into the layers of corn husks and cover the
mush with the remaining corn husks. Cover with moist dirt and
then cover with the coals. Build a fire over the pit. Keep the fire
going for 8 hours until the cake is cooked.
‘Adistsiin (stirring sticks) is made from sticks of sage or
geasewood tied in the middle. It is used by Navajo women to stir
mush and as a strainer to catch pieces of ashes as the as the water
in which the ash has been soaking is poured into the cornmeal.
Servings: Unable to determine
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving: Unable to determine
Nutrients for entire recipe:
Calories:
201,885
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate: 42,341 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
5644 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
3706 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Kneeldown Bread (Nitsidigo’i)
Ingredients:
12 ears of fresh corn
softened corn husks
Scrape the kernels from 12 ears of fresh corn. Grind the kernels on
a metate* into a mush. Make small packages of the mush by
wrapping them in corn husks.
Dig a pit in the ground about one yard across and 10 inches deep.
Build a fire in the pit. When the pit is thoroughly heated, take the
hot coals out and place the packages in the ground and cover with
some fresh leaves and slightly moist dirt, cover with coals. Build a
fire over it and bake at least one hour.
*Metate is a stone with a concave upper surface used as the nether
millstone for grinding grains and especially maize (Indian corn).
Serves: 12
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Use of recipe: After cooking packages are removed from the pit
and served hot with mutton stew, or dried and preserved for the
winter.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
83
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate:
19 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
13 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Navajo Blue Corn Noodles
Ingredients:
6 C. blue corn meal
½ C. juniper ash
4 C. boiling water
Mix juniper ash with boiling water in a large bowl. Add the blue
corn meal, a small amount at a time until a soft dough is formed.
Form dough into small balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Drop
into boiling water. Boil for about 45 minutes.
Servings: 20
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Contributor: Gladys Begay and Marieta Topaha
Use of recipe: Commonly served with roasted or stewed mutton
and outdoor cooked tortillas.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
156
Total fat:
2 g.
Carbohydrate:
30 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
1 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Navajo Cake
Ingredients:
6 C. water
½ C. raisins
4 C. pre-cooked blue cornmeal
½ C. wheat sprouts
2 C. pre-cooked yellow cornmeal
½ C. brown sugar
Add the two cornmeals to the water. Add the raisins, wheat
sprouts and brown sugar. Blend well dissolving all lumps. Pour
into a 9" X 9" baking pan and cover with foil. Bake at 250 degrees
for 4 hours.
Servings: 10
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Notes: Navajo cake is identical to ground cake except for the
method used to bake the cakes.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
380
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate:
84 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
8 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
13 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Navajo Roasted Corn (Neeshjizhii)
To prepare Navajo roasted corn, one must build a fire in an adobe
oven and keep it going all day. Clean out all the ashes and put in
the ears of corn, including the husk, and keep it going all day.
Clean out all the ashes and put in the ears of corn and ½ bucket of
water. Seal the oven with a rock and mud. Let the corn bake all
night. In the morning, scrape the kernels off the ear and dry in the
sun.
Dried corn can be used in many different dishes once it is prepared.
The most popular dish is hominy stew.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Sweet Tamales (Nijilo’i)
Ingredients:
25 lbs of white cornmeal
1 cup white sugar
2 cups raisins
1/4 cup ground wheat sprouts
1 basketful of corn husks
l large pot of simmering water
Mix white cornmeal in handfuls into a large pot of simmering
water. Stir the cornmeal with stirring sticks, removing all lumps.
Add the sugar. Add the raisins. Stir. Stir in the wheat sprouts.
In a separate pan soak corn husks in simmering water. Make small
packages of the cornmeal by wrapping them in soaked corn husks
and tie with strips of corn husks. Put the wrapped packages in a
pot and boil for 1 hour, adding water as needed. Cool.
Servings: approximately 300
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note: Commonly served with coffee and mutton stew.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
144
Total fat:
1 g.
Carbohydrate:
31 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
3 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
2 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
MAIN
DISHES
Backbone Hominy Stew
Ingredients:
10 pieces of backbone of mutton
1 large pot of boiling water
8 ox. dry roasted corn
Cut up the mutton for stew. Put water in a large pot and bring to a
boil. Add the backbone of mutton and dry roasted corn and boil
for 8 hours. Add 1 cup of water every hour until meat is tender.
Servings: 6
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note on serving: Serve hot with fried bread and coffee.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
292
Total fat:
12g.
Carbohydrate:
29 g.
Saturated fat:
4 g.
Protein:
17 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
47 mg.
Cholesterol:
46 mg.
Blood Sausage
Ingredients:
4 C. sheep blood
3 C. chopped potatoes
4 C. yellow cornmeal
1 C. muscle meat
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ C. sheep fat
1 tsp. red chile powder
1 sheep stomach, thoroughly washed
Mix the sheep blood and the sheep fat. Add the cornmeal, salt,
chile powder and mix. Add the potatoes and the meat and mix
well.
Stuff the stomach with the blood sausage and tie the stomach
closed with a string.
Bring 3 quarts of water to a gentle boil. (Caution: sausage may
burst if the water is boiling too hard.) Boil the sausage about 30
minutes, until sausage is brown. Add water to the pot if needed.
Servings: 20
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note: The sausage is also cooked by roasting in a fire pit.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
283
Total fat:
13 g.
Carbohydrate:
1 g
Saturated fat:
6 g
Protein:
1 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
<1 g
Sodium:
227 mg
Cholesterol:
40 mg.
Bullets
Ingredients:
2 lb. ground beef
½ C. chopped onion
1 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Mix ground beef and onion. Add remaining ingredients. Shape into
balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Roll balls lightly in flour.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop the balls into the water.
Cook about 25-30 minutes or until there is no pink in the middle of
the balls.
Servings: 30 balls
Tribe: Chippewa
Note: Bullets are usually served with boiled potatoes and gullet.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
104
Total fat:
7 g
Carbohydrate:
4 g
Saturated fat:
3 g
Protein:
6 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
<1 g
Sodium:
98 mg
Cholesterol:
24 mg.
Moose Meat Chili
Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, chopped
2 lbs. ground moose meat
2 cups tomato sauce
4 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp each of cumin, paprika, salt
½ tsp each of pepper, all spice, cinnamon
1 tsp. honey or molasses
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can black beans
In 4 cups of water, boil ground meat for 30 minutes. Add
remaining ingredients except the beans. Simmer 3 hours
uncovered. Add beans and the last hour of cooking.
Servings: 8
Tribe: Maliseet
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
276
Total fat:
2 g
Carbohydrate:
29 g.
Saturated fat:
< 1 g
Protein:
33 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
< 1 g
Sodium:
547 mg.
Cholesterol:
67 mg.
Mutton Burgers
Ingredients
4 cups (1 ½ lb) diced raw mutton
½ tsp. salt
½ cup chopped onion
Put 4 cups raw mutton in a bowl and grind with meat grinder. Add
onion and salt and mix well. Make into patties and fry in skillet.
Serve like you do hamburgers with tortilla or fried bread.
Servings: 8
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
325
Total fat:
27 g.
Carbohydrate:
1 g
Saturated fat:
12 g.
Protein:
19 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
2 g.
Sodium:
214 mg.
Cholesterol:
83 mg.
Mutton Loaf
Ingredients:
2 cups (3/4 lb.) diced mutton
½ cup canned tomatoes
1 cup chopped bread
½ cup chopped onion
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp chopped celery
1/4 tsp pepper
Grind the mutton with a meat grinder. Add canned tomatoes,
copped bread, onion, salt, celery, pepper. Mix well and form into a
loaf. Place in 8½” x 11" pan. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 45
minutes.
Servings: 6
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
152
Total fat:
9 g.
Carbohydrate:
8 g.
Saturated fat:
4 g.
Protein:
11 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
295 mg.
Cholesterol:
35 mg.
Mutton Stew
Ingredients:
4 C. (1.5 lb) diced mutton
cut up vegetables *
6-8 C. water
spices (optional)
The meat is boiled in the water for at least 30 minutes. Vegetables
are added. Spices can be added to taste. The stew cooks until the
vegetables are done.
Servings: 6 (using the quantity of vegetables listed below)
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Notes: Usually eaten with fried bread and coffee.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
352
Total fat:
27 g.
Carbohydrate:
7 g.
Saturated fat:
12 g.
Protein:
20 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
2 g.
Sodium:
102 mg.
Cholesterol:
83 mg.
* used: 1 C. potatoes, 1 C. carrots, 1 C. celery for nutrient analysis
Navajo Taco
Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes, diced
2 medium onions, diced
½ pound shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups lettuce
shredded ground chile peppers (optional)
Prepared ingredients:
4 pieces of fry bread
2 cups cooked pinto beans
Put fry bread on plate. Put other ingredients on top of fry bread in
the following order: beans, fresh ingredients, cheese.
Servings: 4
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note: Commonly eaten with chile or chile sauce
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
680
Total fat:
28 g.
Carbohydrate:
80 g.
Saturated fat:
14 g.
Protein:
29 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
3 g.
Sodium:
990 mg
Cholesterol:
60 mg.
Pinto Beans
Ingredients:
2 cups washed pinto beans
6 cups water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup sheep fat (shortening or lard)
4 cups water
Soak beans in 6 C. water overnight. Drain the water, rinse the
beans. Add the salt, sheep fat, and 4 C. water to the beans. Boil
until tender over medium heat, for about 6 hours.
Servings: 4
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
146
Total fat:
13 g
Carbohydrate:
4 g
Saturated fat:
4 g
Protein:
15 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
5 g
Sodium:
678 mg
Cholesterol:
45 mg.
SOUPS
Soup in some form is the daily dish. The
soup kettle is always Bubbling over the fire
for members of the family and friends to
help themselves when hungry. The Dakota
word for soup is Wahampi”.
Helen Walker, Arikara
Hull Corn Soup
Ingredients:
½ lb. (2 C.) dehydrated corn
3/4 lb. cooked salt pork or venison
2 C. cooked beans (red, kidney, or pinto beans)
Soak corn over night in enough water to cover the corn. Drain.
Add enough water to cover the corn about 1 inch, bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer about 1 hour.
Add the cooked salt pork or meat and the beans. Simmer 1-2 hours.
Add more water to cover the ingredients throughout the cooking
process.
Servings: 12
Tribe: Oneida Nation
Nutrients per serving using salt pork:
Calories:
305
Total fat:
23 g.
Carbohydrate:
21 g.
Saturated fat:
8 g.
Protein:
7 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
3 g.
Sodium:
375 mg.
Cholesterol:
24 mg.
Nutrients per serving using venison:
Calories:
150
Total fat:
2 g.
Carbohydrate:
21 g.
Saturated fat:
< 1 g.
Protein:
14 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
< 1 g.
Sodium:
24 mg.
Cholesterol:
34 mg.
- 41 -
Hull Corn Soup
Ingredients:
4 (12 oz) cans hull corn
2 lbs yellow eye beans
½ lb salt pork cubed and fried
salt to taste
8 cups water
Combine beans and salt pork, cook until beans are done. Add hull
corn and salt to taste, warm,
Servings: 7
Tribe: Maliseet
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
740
Total fat:
17 g.
Carbohydrate: 121 g.
Saturated fat:
6 g.
Protein:
35 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
4 g.
Sodium:
1818 mg.
Cholesterol:
14 mg.
FRUITS and
SWEETS
Corn Wasna
Ingredients:
2 C. yellow cornmeal
1 C. raisins
1 ½ C. sugar
1 C. plus 5 T. hot tallow with cracklings
1 ½ C. nonfat dry milk
1 tsp. salt
Heat cornmeal in a moderate oven until the cornmeal is very
brown.
Mix cornmeal, sugar, fruit and salt toget her. Add the tallow and
mix well. Press into a 8" X 8" pan and allow to cool.
Servings: 9
Tribe: Dakota
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
585
Total fat:
31 g.
Carbohydrate:
73 g.
Saturated fat:
15 g.
Protein:
6 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
1 g.
Sodium:
335 mg.
Cholesterol:
35 mg.
Wojapi
Ingredients:
3 C. berries
3/4 C. sugar
2 1/4 C. water
3 T. cornstarch
Crush the berries but do not puree.
Mix berries with 1 ½ C. of water. Bring to a boils, stirring
occasionally. Lower to a simmer.
Add the sugar and mix. Mix the cornstarch with 3/4 C. water.
Add to the berry sauce. Cook about 4-5 minutes or until thickened.
Stir constantly.
Servings: 12 servings (1/4 C.)
Tribe: Dakota
Note: Commonly served warm with fry bread. Traditionally suet
was added.
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
76
Total fat:
0 g
Carbohydrate:
19 g
Saturated fat:
0 g
Protein:
0 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g
Sodium:
3 mg
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
MISCELLANEOUS
Wild Rice
Ingredients:
1 C. wild rice
4 C. water
1 tsp. salt
Wash wild rice thoroughly.
Put all ingredients in a large heavy saucepan and cover. Bring to a
boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 45-60 minutes or until the rice
is puffed. Fluff with a fork and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes.
Servings: 6
Tribe: Ojibwe
Nutrients per serving:
Calories:
107
Total fat:
0 g
Carbohydrate:
23 g.
Saturated fat:
0 g
Protein:
4 g
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g
Sodium:
391 mg
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
EDIBLE
PLANTS
CACTUS
Cactus Pads
Harvesting: Wear heavy gloves and use a sharp knife when cutting
the pads from the cactus.
Preparation: Cactus pads can be prepared in several ways
including:
•
parboil them then peel and slice them. Boil in lightly
salted water until tender. They can be eaten at this point
or further cooked and used like chewing gum.
•
roast the peeled, sliced pads.
• make a syrup of 2 C. sugar boiled in 1 C. water. Add 6
peeled, sliced cactus pads and cook until the syrup is
absorbed. When dried the cactus can be eaten like
candy. Another way is to boil the pads until they
dissolve into a syrup. Sieve the syrup and discard and
eat the rest like jelly.
•
mash the pads into a pulp and form into cakes and
allow to dry. The dried cakes can be fried or roasted.
Cactus Seeds
The seeds can be dried and ground into a flour. This flour is often
used to thicken stews, soups, puddings or fruit dishes. It behaves
similar to tapioca.
Cactus Fruit
Harvesting: Choose very ripe fruit; very red, plump prickly pears
are the best. Under ripe fruit is very sour. Rub with grass to remove
the bristles. They can be eaten raw and are better if the skin is
removed.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Nutrients per 1 oz. roasted cactus pad:
Calories:
4
Total fat:
0 g.
Carbohydrate:
1 g
Saturated fat:
0 g.
Protein:
<1 g.
Polyunsaturated fat:
0 g.
Sodium:
6 mg.
Cholesterol:
0 mg.
Canaigre (Rumex hymenosephalus)
Canaigre is used for both food and medicine by desert Indians.
Preparation:
•
Leaves can be roasted in ashes.
•
The Navajo add the seeds to mush.
•
Very young leaves can be boiled in 2 to 3 changes of
water to reduce the natural bitter taste. They are then
served with butter, or chopped and fried with mutton
grease.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Ground Cherry (Physalis pubescens)
Harvesting: They can be picked and left in their husks to ripen for
several weeks.
Preparation:
They can be mixed with honey and used as a jam. They can be
dried and ground into a flour. The flour is added to wheat flour in
baking.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Hollowstomach/ Bristly Hidden Flower (Crypthantha)
Preparation:
A tea is made from the plant
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pringlei)
A shrubby evergreen plant that grows in the southwest.
Preparation:
The berries were eaten raw or cooked, made into a jelly or crushed
for a beverage. The seeds were ground for a mush.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Morman Tea (Ephedra vididus)
This shrub is found in arid desert grasslands and sage country in
the western U.S.
Preparation:
Tea: Roast the stems in a fire. Bring 1 C. water to a boil. Add 1
handful of stems. Remove the pot from the fire and let the tea steep
for at least 20 minutes. Can be flavored with sugar, lemon, or
honey.
Other uses: Many desert tribes chew the ephedra stems to reduce
thirst when they were on the move and water was limited. A strong
tea was used as a cure for syphilis. The Navajo boil the twigs and
leaves with alum to produce a light tan dye.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Navajo Tea (Cota)
Cota is found in the southwest on the grassy plains, mesas, and
open woodlands. The plant is used to make teas by practically all
Indians of this area of the U.S.
Preparation:
Submerge a bundle of fresh or dried cota in a pan of water and boil
for 5 minutes or until tea is of appropriate strength.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
One Seed Juniper
Berries
Preparation:
Berries can be eaten raw, roasted or ground into a meal and mixed
with bread dough.
Branches
Branches can be boiled into a tea. The tea is believed to help
women regain their strength after childbearing.
Juniper Ash
Preparation: Collect several juniper branches and a medium sized
screen large enough to fit over a sauce pan. Prepare a medium
sized fire. Place the screen over a saucepan. Top with some of the
branches. Set fire to the bushy part of the juniper branches, but do
not burn the twigs. The screen will keep large debris out of the
ash. Pass a stick over the top of the screen as the ashes accumulate
to push the ash through the screen.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia strutbiopteris)
Fiddleheads
Fiddleheads are the young coiled fern leaves (about an inch in
diameter) of the ostrich fern. Nearly all ferns have fiddleheads, but
those of the ostrich fern are unlike any other. Fiddleheads are a
Maine delicacy that appear in the early spring during late April and
May.
Harvesting: The tender little roll of fern are removed from the plant
almost as soon as they appear within an inch or two of the ground.
The brown scales are carefully brushed out and removed.
Preparation:
The “heads” are washed and cooked in a small amount of lightly
salted boiling water for at least 10 minutes, or steamed for 20
minutes. They are served at once with melted butter or vinegar.
They may be served like asparagus on toast, cooked or chilled.
Fiddleheads can also be served as a salad with an onion and
vinegar dressing.
Tribe: Maliseet
Prickly Pear (Opuntia phaeacantha) (Hosh)
This cactus is found in the deserts of the southwest..
Harvesting: Pick the fruit with a forked stick. Remove the spines.
Dry the pads in the sun. The Navajo legend says that a hair must be
plucked from the gatherer’s head so that the plant will yield the
fruit without twisting its heart. The Navajo are careful when
gathering foods to not offend the spirits that rule the plants which
they believe have souls. Traditionally the Navajo believe that if the
spirits are offended, it could result in starvation.
Preparation:
The pads can be eaten fresh or dried, or made into jellow or a fruit
juice.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Rocky Mountain Beeweed (Cleome serrulata)
This plant grows in the arid forests throughout the West.
Preparation:
•
The Navajo dry the leaves and store them for winter.
•
It is usually washed and drained three times to reduce
the bitter taste, then hung to dry.
•
The leaves are added to stew made of wild onions, wild
celery and tallow or meat. Bread is then dipped into the
stew and eaten.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Sego-Lily (Calohortus nuttali)
The bulbs are eaten raw and the early Navajo ate them for food
when other food was scarce.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Squash Blossoms
Harvesting: The blossoms are picked just before they reach full
bloom. The blooms are washed thoroughly and carefully inspected
for the presence of bees. The blossoms can be hung upside down in
a dry, airy location until well dry. They are crushed and mixed with
a small amount of water to form a paste for healing.
Preparation:
30 blossoms
1 C. water
1/4 tsp. salt
Blossoms are boiled in lightly salted water for about 10 minutes.
They must not be boiled dry or overcooked. The final texture is
that of cooked spinach.
Servings: 4
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Tumbleweed (Salsola kali)
Tumbleweeds are found throughout North America at elevations of
1500 to 8000 feet. As they mature they become large, round in
shape and very thorny.
Harvesting: Tumbleweeds are picked for eating when they are
only 2 to 3 inches in height. The sprouts appear after the first
summer rains and grow very rapidly.
Preparation:
The sprouts are boiled and eaten buttered or with small portions of
mutton fat. If the sprouts are very young, they can be chopped raw
and added to salads.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Wild Carrots (Queen Anne’s Lace)
Preparation:
•
The outer layer is peeled off, leaving the white inner
part which can be eaten raw.
•
They can be dried by tearing the root into strips and
laid in the sun for a day or two. They are then ground.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Wild Onion (Allium cernuum)
Wild onions are found in moist ground throughout the Southwest
during the spring and summer.
Preparation:
•
The bulbs are used like regular onions in stews, soups
and gravies and cooked with other vegetables.
•
The unpeeled bulbs can be roasted on a bed of medium
hot coals, turning occasionally. When the bulbs are
tender, the skin is punctures to let the steam escape. The
centers are scooped out and salt and pepper is added.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Wolf Berry (Lycium pallidum)
The bushes are found along the washes and on the dry slopes of
desert and semideserts of the Southwest.
Preparation:
•
The berries can be eaten raw or dried in the sun.
•
The berries can be mashed with water to make a
beverage or added to soups and stews.
Tribe: The Navajo Nation
Note: The leaves are chopped fine and used like chives in salads
and sauces.
OTHER
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patterns of Indians on Standing Rock Reservation. Journal of the
American Dietetic Association. 64:36.
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March 3, 2002)
Cox, Beverly and Martin Jacobs. 1991. Spirit of the Harvest: North
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Halderson, Karen. 1998. Alaska Native Food Practices, Customs,
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