Navajo Dumpling Stew

I don't get the opportunity to travel across the reservation as often as I'd like. But when the situation arises, I try to find a taste of Navajo culture. I've eaten a mutton sandwich at a roadside shack and sheepherder sandwiches inside a cafe. This time I was looking for something new.
 
A friend gave me a tip of a wonderful food stall south of Cameron, Arizona. This is a busy section of Highway 89, a popular conduit for people traveling between Flagstaff, the Grand Canyon and further north into Utah and Colorado. At first we have trouble finding the stand because of the many booths selling jewelry and other trinkets, but at last we succeed.
 
The small trailer sits just off the west side of the highway. The San Francisco Peaks, one the the Navajo's four sacred mountains, stand majestically snow-capped in the background. Next to the trailer sits a picnic table beneath the shade of a canopy.
 
Inside the trailer are three Navajo women. From what I can tell they are a grandmother, daughter and granddaughter, the youngest about twelve years old. The grandmother has a sweet disposition and a puffy, wrinkled face. She remains in the background flattening a ball of dough. I think she's the boss.
 
I am here with my two daughters and we scroll over the short list of menu options written on a white board on the face of the trailer. I am looking for something I have never tried before. The girls order Navajo burgers and I decide on dumpling stew.
 
Before we are finish paying, the grandmother has dropped two discs of dough into a pot of boiling oil. We sit down at the picnic table to wait for our order. A very friendly lady is already at the table and raving over her food. She offers us a bite, but we politely decline. She is Anglo and a school teacher at one of the towns that border the reservation. She is on her way to Colorado to visit her daughter and passes by here all the time, but has never stopped.
 
Finally our meal arrives. The dumpling stew is served in a white plastic bowl. The broth is creamier than I expected, but with a very smooth meaty flavor. There are chunks of lamb that practically melt in my mouth. The dumplings, I'm quite certain, are strips of fry bread dough, cooked into the stew. After one bite I realize that it needs salt. Two shakers are on the table and I generously add flavor to the stew. From what I understand, this is quite typical of Navajo cuisine, especially traditional mutton stew. Along with my order comes a large piece of dry bread. This comes from the same discs of dough used to make fry bread, but they are cooked over a griddle instead of fried.
 
Three more people join our tiny table. A couple from Boise, Idaho are on the tail-end of a two-week vacation and decided to stop here while passing through. A Navajo from Chinle, but who is working in Kayenta, is on his way to Phoenix to visit his mother. I am learning that half the fun of eating here is visiting the people.
 
The stew is excellent. I take a bite with my spoon, then follow it with a chunk of dry bread. The wind has picked up considerably and as our bowls and plates become lighter we are having to hold everything down. 

I am also curious to know the history of dumpling stew. I will admit I've never heard of it before. Traditionally, corn stew or mutton stew are Navajo staples. I wonder if it is a recent innovation to cater to the tastes of tourists, especially since it has lamb instead of the tougher meat of mutton.
 
We finish our food, having been very satisfied. As we leave, more are arriving. Judging from the constant flow of traffic, this little stand probably sees a good amount of people. I'm sure their one little picnic bench will not be enough. ♠