Hungarian Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings (Csirke-Paprikas and Nokedli)
Try this Hungarian Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings recipe, or contribute your own.
Try this Hungarian Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings recipe, or contribute your own.
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup water
- salt
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- for the chicken paprikash:
- 2 1/2 lbs chicken pieces legs and thighs with the skin (skin boneless could easily be substituted)
- 2 lbs. yellow onions sliced lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons sweet hungarian paprika
- 1 tablespoon hot hungarian paprika (adjusted to taste)
- Carbohydrate 34.7939739288109 g
- Cholesterol 175.837916671406 mg
- Fat 39.335217779751 g
- Fiber 1.99108894528578 g
- Protein 44.3239716722747 g
- Saturated Fat 13.8689471676562 g
- Serving Size 1 1 serving (681g)
- Sodium 723.8043062358 mg
- Sugar 32.8028849835252 g
- Trans Fat 3.29050383357833 g
- Calories 680 calories
Step-by-step
- Salt the chicken pieces well and let them sit out while you slice the onions. (Bringing the chicken pieces to room temperature)
- Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. When the butter is hot, pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and place them skin side down in the pan. Brown the chicken on all sides, taking care to keep the skin intact. Once browned, remove and set aside.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook them, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan, cook until lightly browned.
- Add the paprika, black pepper to the onions and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth and deglaze the bottom of the pan.
- Add the chicken pieces back into the pan on top of the onions. Cover and cook on a low simmer for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. (Internal temperature should be at least 165 degrees f) If you want to cook the chicken until it falls off the bone, that should take another 30 minutes or so.
- Once the chicken is cooked to your liking, remove it once again from the pan.
- Allow the pan to cool for a few minutes and slowly stir in the sour cream. Add salt to taste.
- Put the chicken back into the pan and coat well with the sauce.
- Serve with Nokedli or any noodles or dumplings.
- Place a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil
- Combine eggs, salt and water, mix well with a whisk
- Add flour, a little at a time enough to make a soft, sticky dough
- Let dough rest for 10 minutes
- Beat mixture together
- There are different methods of dropping the dough into the water.
- If you have a colander and a spatula- hold the colander over the boiling water, put a little of the dough mixture into the colander and push through the holes with a spatula.
- Alternatively, you can just drop small pieces of the dough mixture using a teaspoon
- You can also purchase a Nokedli or spaetzel maker designed especially to make these small dumplings.
- Whatever method you use, when the Nokedli rises to the top, it is done.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and rinse under cold water.
- Serve with the chicken paprikash, it would also be wonderful added to any stew.
Building the Sauce Base
Deep mahogany paprika oil pools around tender pieces of poultry, anchored by a thick, velvety pan gravy. Two pounds of yellow onions caramelize down to form this natural thickening agent without needing flour or starch. Slice those onions lengthwise rather than crosswise so they hold their structure during the long simmer. Cooking the onions over medium heat releases their natural sugars, creating a sweet counterpart to the sharp bite of hot Hungarian paprika.Managing Chicken Cuts and Dairy
Bone-in legs and thighs cost significantly less per pound than skinless breasts and yield far superior flavor for braising. Render the fat slowly in a heavy Dutch oven, keeping the skin intact to protect the meat from drying out during the 25-minute simmer. When adding the half cup of sour cream, let the pan cool slightly off the heat to prevent the dairy from curdling. If substituting boneless meat to save preparation time, reduce the covered cooking time to 18 minutes to maintain proper texture.Forming Tender Nokedli Dumplings
Mixing flour, eggs, and water creates a wet, sticky batter that requires a 10-minute rest to hydrate the gluten strands fully. Press this dough through a spaetzle maker or a large-holed colander directly into boiling salted water. The dumplings float to the surface within 60 seconds, signaling they are ready to be scooped out with a slotted spoon. Rinse the cooked dumplings immediately under cold water to stop the cooking process and wash away excess starch before tossing them into the paprikash sauce.
