HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN PAPRIKA WITH HOMEMADE DUMPLINGS
For days now my youngest daughter has been begging me to make her some Chicken Paprika for dinner. How could I possibly resist? This popular dish is an all-time Hungarian favorite, especially when serving it with the homemade noodles called GALUSKA OR NOKEDLI or well-known in Germany as Spatzles. Good luck pronouncing either. Of course, I love this meal myself, even though it is a bit more labor intensive than some other dishes but definitely well worth your time. Every household has their own unique recipe, I will follow the one I grew up with in my mother's kitchen.
Ingredients:
- 4 pieces of bonless chicken thighs (I used only upper thighs but feel free to use both)
- 2 or 3 pieces of boneless chicken breast halves, cut in halves
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 to 3 yellow peppers, chopped
- 3-4 garlic gloves, minced
- 2 to 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or corn oil
- 2 to3 tablespoons of sweet Paprika powder
- 1 large tomato
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 tablespoon of flour
Ingredients for Dumplings:
- 3 cups of flour
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 to 1 cup of cold water
Heat oil in a medium sized pot and saute chopped peppers for about 4 to 5 minutes. Add chopped onions and garlic and saute for another 3 to 4 minutes. Before adding the paprika powder, pull pot off heat to prevent paprika from producing a bitter flavor. Season with salt, I usually use about 2 teaspoons of salt, but add less or more according to your own taste. You can always add more later if necessary. Add a little water to your pot before placing it back on the heat.
Place chicken pieces into pot, add more water just to barely cover chicken. Put in tomato cut in half. Bring it to a boil, turn heat down to low and cook covered for about 45 minutes to an hour or until chicken is tender.
Meanwhile, mix together a cup of sour cream and a tablespoon of flour. When chicken is ready, scoop some liquid from your pot into sour cream and flour and mix it well with whisk. Slowly add mixture back to pot and mix it gently, not breaking up the chicken. Bring it to a quick boil then turn the heat down to low and simmer for few minutes to thicken a little.
While your chicken is cooking, it is a good time to prepare your dumplings. Boil a large pot of water, season it with salt. Measure flour into mixing bowl, add salt and eggs. Mix it around, then slowly add water, mix it with wooden spatula or electric mixer until smooth. but not too thick of a consistency. If you lift up your spatula, pasta should fall off the spoon slowly.
Place your spatzle maker over boiling water (I believe it is available at Bed, Bath & Beyond or online in the United States) and start pressing dough through the holes of your spatzle maker into the water. As soon as dumplings surface, scoop it out with slotted spoon or small colander strainer and immediately place it on melted butter or oil to coat.
Serve dumplings with Paprika Chicken, make sure you have some fresh bread on hand to scoop up the delicious sauce. Jo Etvagyat! (Bon Apetite in Hungarian)
