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I have tried a couple ways to do this and they have been OK. Of course, when I worked in industrial kitchens, using a deep fryer and a stainless steel potato masher (but larger) was ideal, but neither of these tools are available in my home kitchen.
So basically, I have a 12-15 inch flour tortilla I want to make into a fried bowl for a nice salad. Any ideas?
Try brushing the tortilla with oil, and baking it upside down over a steel bowl.
JustRightMenus touched on this topic in this answer to a similar question.
Quoting that answer:
you can make your own shell for taco salad by placing a large flour (burrito-size) tortilla in an oven-safe bowl (shaped however you'd like) and putting a big ball of tinfoil inside it. You can also do the opposite - place the bowl upside-down and drape the tortilla over it. Either way, Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes until it's lightly browned, and you're done! When you remove the tinfoil and the bowl, the tortilla will hold its own shape.
If you're going to fry in oil, then just use a ladle to get the bowl shape you desire. I've done that in the past with good results.
I've seen a posting somewhere that used a muffin pan, putting it upside down and placing smaller tortillas in between the crevices before baking. They look great, wavy, just like they serve in the restaurants!
I somehow acquired a "tortilla bowl maker" as a gift. It looks something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Norpro-Nonstick-Tortilla-Bowl-Makers/dp/B00005EBH7/. It's essentially a metal mold with ridged sides on the "bowl". We baked flour tortillas on it, but the results were . . . "eh". You may have better luck making bowls from corn tortillas, though.
I brushed both sides with oil and put IN a bowl and microwaved it. It tasted fried and crispy.
You can order tortilla bowl fryers on line. They are round shaped with ridges & a really long handle for deep frying, just be careful of the size, a 6" was too big for my deep fryer.
