This is an old Hungarian recipe, and something of a national dish. DH and I were on a visit to Budapest, a lovely city, where we were served this in the local kosher restaurant with spaetzle, and we were so enamoured of it that I was inspired to recreate it. This is a very hearty dish which will stick to your ribs and reheats very well.

It uses ingredients you should have in your pantry, and although the Hungarians would tell you only use Hungarian paprika, I find that my local paprika, which is fresh sweet paprika, does an admirable job. Don’t use sad 15 year old paprika that is just for food coloring. Make sure your spice is fresh since this is the main ingredient in the dish and fresh paprika has a heady aroma and adds great depth to the dish. If you check on chicken paprikash, there are a number of different possible ways to make it, and like gazpacho to Spaniards, the debate gets heated. One interesting thing most agree on is if you don’t serve it with the spaetzle or nukerl (a pasta-y dumpling) you serve it with noodles or mashed potatoes. Also, nearly all of the cooks insist it must be served with cucumber salad on the side.

This actually makes good sense for the refreshing tang of the cucumber salad offsets the heartiness of the dish beautifully. Remember that you are basically stewing the chicken, so it will not look like roasted chicken with a deep golden brown color but (despite the mixed debate) I do prefer to brown the chicken first so it will have some good color and added depth of flavor. This has a wonderful mouthfeel and should make a hit for your table.

Start by browning all the pieces of chicken on both sides.

Remove the chicken to a deep pot where they will continue after more sauteeing is done. Set aside. Then in the same pan you browned the chicken, start sauteeing your onion in the chicken drippings, adding more oil if needed and then adding the red pepper as it softens and turns yellow.

Then add the chopped tomato and paprika and keep sauteeing.

Add the salt, pepper, garlic and keep sauteeing.

Then turn off the fire and in the deep pot where the sauteed chicken is, pour the onion, pepper, paprika mixture on top of the chicken, scraping all the good bits out and stir about till the chicken pieces are coated. Cook covered for about 5 minutes.

Now add the water and turn the heat to medium/low simmer and cover the pot. Cook for about 15 minutes, remove cover and gently mix the chicken and vegetable mixture together again. The chicken will be giving up liquid all the while adding to the liquid in the pan. That’s fine, you want this. Recover the pot and continue to cook, peeking in after another 15 minutes or so to make sure the chicken pieces are more or less submerged in the juices in the pot. This doesn’t mean completely covered but more or less like so:

Plunk lid back onto pot and continue to cook about another 10 minutes or so and take your non-dairy creamer to which you’ve added a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to it and let it “curdle” or thicken up and make a slurry with the flour, stirring till combined and smooth, and add in a stream to the low simmering liquid in the pan, cooking another 5 minutes or so until chicken is completely cooked and easily is pierced by a wooden skewer or fork and sauce is slightly thickened (not very thick).

Serve hot over a bed of noodles or mashed potatoes, I recommend the potatoes in the filling in the Old Fashioned Potato Knishes

generously spooning sauce on top, with a little dish of cucumber salad Saba David’s Cucumber Salad on the side.

Chicken Paprikash

6-8 chicken thighs and drumsticks patted dry with paper towels
2 big onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 cup oil
1 medium red pepper rough chopped
1 tomato chopped (optional, some recipes do, some don’t, your preference)
1 cup boiling water
2-3 heaping tablespoons sweet paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1/3 cup Rich’s whip (unwhipped non-dairy creamer) with a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar (mock sour cream)
2 heaping tablespoons flour, or 1 1/2 tablespoons potato starch for Passover

Put oil in pan and brown the chicken on both sides and remove to a deep pot. Set aside. Add onion to same pan you browned chicken in and sauté till soft but yellow not brown. Add chopped pepper and cook about 5 minutes, then add tomato and cook a bit and add garlic, salt and pepper and paprika and stir briefly, letting the spices warm up with the vegetables. Add vegetable mixture to the chicken in the tall pot, scraping all the bits in and stir around till chicken is all coated with paprika and oil and veg. Let cook with cover 5 minutes, remove cover and see if it’s sticking. Then add the water and cover and cook another 15 minutes, stirring chicken about. Cook another 15 minutes, till chicken is nearly done. Take 2 heaping tablespoons flour and whisk into the Rich’s whip or soy milk thickened with lemon juice or vinegar till smooth. Lower heat and slowly add slurry stirring and let thicken a bit, it will not get truly thick. Continue cooking the chicken another 5 minutes or so on low heat or till totally soft or easily pierced with fork or wooden skewer. This is a wonderful creamy meld of taste, flavor and texture.
Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes with a cucumber salad on the side.