Step 1

Heat the oil in a heavy duty shallow skillet such as a cast iron skillet.

Step 2

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together. Pour the milk into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to mix ingredients in with the milk to form a ball of dough.

Step 3

Turn dough onto a floured surface and roll until smooth. Mold the dough into a loaf about 8 inches. Divide the dough in half, then into fourths. See the picture above. Roll each individual section into a ball and roll out the small ball of dough into a round circle about 4-5 inches wide.

Step 4

Use tong and carefully dip half of the chalupa dough into the hot oil. Once that half of the dough has begun to fry up but not quite brown, flip the chalupa bread with the other half of the dough frying in the oil. This is if you want to try to have the chalupas have the dip on the bottom for your fillings. If it doesn’t matter to you, just fry on both sides for 2 minutes until golden brown and remove from oil onto cooling rack lined with paper towels.

Step 5

Fill your chalupas with beef, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream. Top with taco sauce if desired.