🍗 Traditional Hungarian Chicken Paprikash with Creamy Sauce

Brown chicken:
- Pat chicken dry, season with salt & pepper.
- Heat lard/oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Brown chicken pieces on all sides, then remove and set aside.
Onion base:
- In the same pot, add onions and cook until soft and golden.
- Remove from heat (important, so paprika doesn’t burn) and stir in paprika.
Build the sauce:
- Add garlic, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Stir well.
- Return chicken to the pot, pour in broth, cover, and simmer on low for 40–45 minutes, until chicken is tender.
Make creamy finish:
- In a small bowl, whisk sour cream with flour until smooth.
- Temper it: add a few spoonfuls of hot sauce from the pot into the sour cream mix, whisking to avoid curdling.
- Slowly stir mixture back into the pot. Simmer gently for 5 minutes (don’t boil).
Serve:
- Spoon chicken and sauce over nokedli (spaetzle), egg noodles, or buttered dumplings.
- Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

Always use Hungarian sweet paprika (and a pinch of hot paprika if you like heat).
Some families add a bit of caraway seed to the onion base.
For extra creaminess, stir in an extra spoon of sour cream before serving.

Would you like me to also include the quick homemade nokedli (Hungarian dumpling) recipe to serve it authentically?