Chicken Paprikash

Chicken in a creamy paprika sauce with galuska dumplings

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City/Region: Hungary

Time Period: 1892

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The first part of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the journal of Jonathan Harker as he travels from England to Transylvania, which is written similarly to a modern travel blog. He makes note of the food that he eats, notably “a chicken done up some way with red pepper, which was very good but thirsty.” He calls it “paprika hendl” because Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time, and hendl is a German word for chicken, but today we know it as chicken paprikash.

This recipe from 1892, just five years before Dracula was published, is absolutely delicious. While Jonathan thought that his supper was “thirsty” (or spicy, causing him to drink a lot), this recipe uses sweet paprika and has a lovely flavor without the heat. The galuska are a lovely accompaniment, but you could also serve this forth with rice or other noodles. It’s a perfect homey, heartwarming dish for the fall and winter months.

“Put a piece of fat the size of a large egg into a pot…When the fat is hot, add two finely chopped onions and a tin spoonful of fine red paprika, then immediately add the chicken…salt it, pour on half a liter of water, cover and, stirring often, let it simmer for half an hour. Meanwhile take care that it does not boil to pieces. When the chicken is tender, prepare a gravy thickening with 3 deciliters of very good sour cream and a small spoon of flour. Pour this into the chicken broth, stir it well, and boil together…Serve it on a long platter, surrounded by egg barley or galuska (dumplings). ”

— Valódi Magyar Szakácskönyv, 1892

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Ingredients:

Chicken Paprikash

• 4-5 lbs (2 kg) chicken, I used drumsticks and thighs
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 2 tablespoons schmalz*, lard, or vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions (about 500 g), finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika, Hungarian if you can find it
• 2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock or water
• 1 1/4 cup (300 g) sour cream, plus extra for garnish
• 1 tablespoon flour

Galuska

• 3 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups (300 g) flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons (45 g) melted butter, plus a little more for coating the dumplings
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk

*Schmalz is rendered chicken fat and is delicious, but lard or vegetable oil will work as well.

Instructions:

1. For the chicken paprikash: Pat the chicken dry and season it with 1 tablespoon of the salt.
2. Heat the schmalz in a large pot over medium high heat. Once it’s hot and shimmering, add the onions and sprinkle them with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir to coat the onions in the fat and cook for 10 minutes, or until they’re soft and golden.
3. When the onions are golden, take the pot off the heat and stir in the paprika. It’s important to take the pot off the heat so that the paprika doesn’t burn when you add it in.
4. When the onions and paprika are evenly combined, return the pot to the heat and add in the chicken and stir so that it gets coated in the onions and paprika. Adding the chicken in a few pieces at a time and stirring after each addition can make it easier to coat the chicken.
5. Cook the chicken for a few minutes, just so that it starts to get some color, turning it every minute or so, then add the chicken stock. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pot, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
6. When the chicken is almost ready, mix the sour cream and flour together until smooth. Stir in about a ladleful of the hot liquid from the pot to temper the sour cream, then stir all of the sour cream mixture into the pot. Let it gently simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.
7. For the galuska: Whisk the eggs until smooth. Combine them with the flour, salt, and 3 tablespoons of melted butter and mix until it forms a dough. Stir in the milk a little at a time until the mixture is the consistency of a very thick pancake batter.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the dumplings in batches by running the batter through a galuska maker, a cheese grater with large holes, or by just pinching off small pieces and dropping them in the water. The galuska should float after just a few seconds, then let them boil for another 45 seconds, then take them out with a strainer. Put them in a bowl and pour a little melted butter over them and toss to coat so they don’t stick together. Repeat with the remaining batter.
9. To serve: Plate the galuska with some of the chicken and plenty of the sauce. Garnish with sour cream and serve it forth.

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