Dice the meat into small cubes, about 1 cm/ 0.4 inches. Set aside.
Quarter the onions and slice the quarters very thinly.
Heat the lard or oil in a heavy bottomed stewing pan or Dutch oven. Fry the onions until golden. Add the paprika powder and stir very well.
Add the meat and continue cooking for about 5 minutes, stirring often and making sure you sear the meat on all sides.
Add about 250 ml/ 1 cup hot water, the meat should be barely covered in water. Add some some salt and pepper as well. Stir well and cover.
Simmer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring regularly and checking that the dish doesn't become too dry and catches at the bottom of the pan. Add a little bit of extra hot water when the water in the pot is gone, but not more than 50 – 60 ml/ ¼ cup at a time.
After this time check the meat, it should be very tender and the onions should be “melted” or dissolved, you should not be able to recognize their form anymore. If the meat is not perfectly tender and the onions can still be seen and felt in the mouth, continue cooking the pörkölt for another 15 minutes, then check again.
At this point, if you have too much liquid in the pot, remove the lid and continue cooking the pörkölt for another 5-10 minutes or until the water evaporates.
Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and serve with nokedli – Hungarian flour dumplings, mashed or boiled potatoes, Spätzle or regular noodles. And also with sour cucumbers or other preserved vegetables.