🇭🇺 Hungarian Chicken Paprikash (Chicken and Dumplings)
Instructions
1. Prepare the chicken:
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
Heat lard or oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Brown chicken pieces on all sides. Remove and set aside.
2. Make the base:
In the same pot, sauté the onions until golden. Add garlic, then stir in the paprika (remove from heat for a moment so it doesn’t burn).
Add tomatoes and green pepper. Cook until softened into a thick base.
3. Cook the chicken:
Return chicken pieces to the pot. Pour in chicken broth until chicken is just covered.
Cover and simmer for 45–50 minutes, until chicken is tender.
4. Finish with sour cream:
In a small bowl, mix sour cream with flour to make a smooth paste.
Remove chicken from the pot. Whisk the sour cream mixture into the sauce until smooth and creamy.
Return chicken to the pot, heat gently (do not boil) until sauce is thickened.
5. Make the dumplings (nokedli):
In a bowl, mix flour, eggs, salt, and just enough water to form a sticky, thick batter.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
Using a spaetzle maker or a spoon, drop small bits of dough into the boiling water.
Cook until dumplings rise to the top, then scoop out with a slotted spoon.
6. Serve:
Place dumplings on plates, top with chicken and generous spoonfuls of creamy paprika sauce.
✨ Tips:
Use authentic Hungarian sweet paprika – it makes all the difference.
Some families add a little hot paprika for spice.
If you want it extra creamy, stir in more sour cream at the end.
Would you like me to also share a shorter “weeknight” version of paprikash that skips the whole chicken and uses just chicken thighs with store-bought spaetzle? That’s much quicker but still comforting.
