Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings: Hungarian / Czech Recipe

Hungarian chicken paprikash with dumpling is a wonderful main dish that is traditional in Hungary but is prepared in different variations almost all over the world. How is this recipe likely to be different for you? Paprikásh is also popularly cooked in the Czech Republic, and the recipe is basically exactly the same, but there is one big difference, and that is the dumplings. We mainly make yeast dumplings for sauces (the recipe is below). Among the very popular dumplings are Czech Bread dumpling and Carlsbad dumpling, but I will add a recipe for the latter two next time. And what kind of dumplings do you like best?

Recipe

Ingredients in this recipe

For the Chicken Paprikash

• 1,5 kg (3 lbs) chicken pieces (whole chicken cut into pieces or using certain parts such as thighs and drumsticks)
• 2 large onions finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons ground sweet Hungarian red pepper (for a hot version, add hot red pepper)
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• 2 cloves of minced or mashed garlic
• 1 diced tomato
• 1 bell pepper cut into slices
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup sour cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

For Czech Yeast Dumplings

• 500 g (1 lb) plain or all-purpose flour
• 1 package (7 g) of dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 300 ml warm milk
• 1 large egg
• 30 g of softened butter

Step-by-step instructions

Chicken Paprikash

Step 1

• Salt and pepper the rinsed and dried chicken pieces.

Step 2

• In a large pot or saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent.

Step 3

• Add sweet pepper and possibly hot pepper if you like and also crushed garlic. Mix everything and cook for about a minute until the spices are fragrant. You don’t have to look at the stopwatch, just do it by eye.

Step 4

• Add the chicken pieces to this fragrant mixture and sear them on all sides.

Step 5

• When the chicken is browned, add the chopped tomatoes and chopped bell pepper. Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables soften slightly.

Step 6

• Pour the chicken stock over everything, cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer on low to medium heat until the chicken is done.

Step 7

• In a bowl, mix the sour cream with a spoonful of flour until smooth. Gradually add the hot juice from the pot to the sour cream mixture, stirring constantly. This will heat up the sour cream and prevent curdling.

Step 8

• Stirring constantly, pour the sour cream mixture into the pot and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce in the pot thickens.

Step 9

• Add salt and pepper to taste. This completes the Hungarian paprikash, and you can serve it with the dumpling.

Czech Yeast Dumplings

Homemade sourdough bun dumpling is an excellent side dish that you can prepare very easily at home. This is a typical Czech dumpling that is cooked whole and then cut into individual slices.

Step 1

• In a large bowl, mix the plain flour, dry yeast, sugar, and salt.

Step 2

• Add warm (room temperature) milk and mix. Let this mixture rest for about 10 minutes until foam appears on the surface, which indicates that the yeast is active.

Step 3

• Add eggs and softened butter to the yeast mixture. Knead the dough until it holds together.

Step 4

• Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about another 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic enough. If needed, add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Step 5

• Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel or cling film, and leave to rise for about 1,5 hours.

Step 6

• After rising, work the dough again and make one larger roll or two smaller ones. We also call it cone or leg in slang. If you want, you can immediately form smaller dumplings from the dough. Then you won’t have to cut individual slices.

Step 7

• Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce the heat to medium and let the dumpling cook for about 20 to 30 minutes. After cooking, the dumpling should be firm on the surface but soft and fluffy inside.

Step 8

• Take the boiled dumpling out of the water, let it drain a little, and cut it into 2 cm thick slices. Put them on a plate and serve. If you need to reheat the dumpling, for example for dinner, then it is done over steam.

Enjoy great Hungarian chicken paprikash with Czech dumplings. You basically have two options for preparing a leavened dumpling. You either make one large dumpling and cut it after cooking, or you cook smaller dumplings straight away. Each version has its charm, and it depends only on you which way is more pleasant for you. So, how did you like this recipe?