đź‡đź‡ş Hungarian Chicken Paprikash (Csirkepaprikás)
Chicken Paprikash is one of Hungary’s most famous comfort dishes. It’s a creamy, paprika-rich chicken stew traditionally served with dumplings or noodles.
🧾 Ingredients (4 servings)
- 1 kg chicken (thighs or drumsticks preferred)
- 2 large onions, finely chopped
- 2–3 tbsp lard or oil
- 2–3 tbsp Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1–2 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 bell pepper (optional, chopped)
- 1 tomato (optional, chopped or grated)
- 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
- 200 ml sour cream (tejföl)
- 1 tbsp flour (for thickening, optional)
- 200–300 ml water or chicken broth
👩‍🍳 Instructions
1. Sauté the base
- Heat oil or lard in a pot
- Cook onions slowly until soft and golden
- Add garlic, pepper, and tomato (optional)
2. Add paprika (important step)
- Remove pot from heat briefly
- Stir in sweet paprika quickly
👉 This prevents burning, which makes it bitter
3. Cook the chicken
- Add chicken pieces and coat in paprika mixture
- Season with salt and pepper
- Pour in a little water or broth
- Cover and simmer on low heat for 35–45 minutes
4. Make it creamy
- Mix sour cream with flour (optional, to prevent curdling)
- Stir into the pot
- Simmer gently for another 5–10 minutes (do not boil hard)
🍽️ Traditional serving
Serve with:
- đź‡đź‡ş Nokedli (Hungarian egg dumplings)
- Boiled potatoes
- Or wide egg noodles
đź‡đź‡ş Key flavor notes
- Sweet Hungarian paprika is essential
- The sauce should be rich, creamy, and mildly smoky
- Onions form the base—no shortcuts here
🧠Result
A tender, creamy chicken stew with deep paprika flavor—one of Hungary’s most iconic home-cooked dishes.
If you want, I can also give you:
- a quick 30-minute version
- or the recipe for nokedli (Hungarian dumplings) that go perfectly with it
