"Chicken braised in onion, paprika and sour cream until the sauce is brick-red and silky — Hungary's most comforting dish, served with egg dumplings that absorb every drop."
About Chicken Paprikash
Hungary's most comforting dish — chicken pieces braised in a sauce of lard-fried onion, sweet and hot paprika and sour cream until the sauce is brick-red, silky and slightly tangy; served with nokedli, small egg dumplings pressed through a sieve directly into boiling water; the paprika must be fresh-ground Hungarian; nothing else has the right fragrance.
Chicken Paprikash — a staple of Hungary's cuisine
Hungary's most comforting dish: chicken pieces braised in a sauce of lard-fried onion, sweet and hot paprika and sour cream until the sauce is brick-red, silky and slightly tangy. The sour cream must be stirred in off the heat — adding it to a boiling sauce curdles it. The result must be smooth and glossy.
Served with nokedli — small egg dumplings pressed through a sieve directly into boiling water and cooked in two minutes. They absorb the paprikash sauce completely and are the second reason to eat the dish.
What to Expect
The chicken paprikash arrives with the sauce pooling around the nokedli. You cut a piece of chicken, drag it through the sauce and eat with a dumpling alongside. The sour cream gives the sauce a slight tang that stops it from being too rich.
Why Try It
Chicken paprikash is Hungarian home cooking's most internationally accessible dish — all the country's flavour philosophy (paprika, sour cream, lard) in one uncomplicated plate.
Insider Tips
The sour cream must be full-fat and added off the heat — the sauce curdles otherwise.
Nokedli are required. Serving paprikash with anything else is a compromise.
Gundel in Budapest is the historic address, though neighbourhood étteremek (restaurants) serve equally good versions.
