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pot of hungarian chicken with dumplings.
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5 from 1 vote

Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings

How to make Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings, one of the best traditional Hungarian or Romanian chicken dishes.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Poultry
Cuisine: Hungarian, Romanian
Servings: 4
Calories: 752kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

  • Large Dutch oven or another heavy-bottomed pot
  • Large pot for cooking the dumplings

Ingredients

Chicken Paprikash:

  • 4 chicken thighs Note 1
  • 4 chicken drumsticks
  • 1 tablespoon oil Note 2
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika powder Note 3
  • 1 ⅓– 1 ½ cups chicken stock 300 – 350 ml/ 10-12 fl.oz Note 4
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • a small bunch of parsley

Dumplings:

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream Note 5
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 180 g all-purpose flour + or - 1 tablespoon 6.5 oz/ 1 ½ cups Note 6
  • ½ tablespoon fine sea salt for the boiling water

Instructions

Chicken paprikash:

  • Remove the skin from the chicken thighs and legs (Note 6). Chop the onion finely.
  • Cook onions: Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot, large enough to hold all the chicken parts. Cook the chopped onion for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Add the sweet paprika powder and stir well to coat the onions.
  • Simmer: Place the chicken parts in the pot and add the chicken stock, only 1 ⅓ cup/ 300 ml at the beginning. Cover the pot and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
  • Check and stir carefully from time to time. Add the remaining stock if you think it is necessary. I usually do add it; I love the sauce.
  • In the meantime, prepare the dumplings (See below).
  • Thicken paprikash: Stir the cornstarch with a bit of water to form a smooth paste. Make a little room in the middle of the pot and stir the paste into the sauce while whisking all the time to avoid clumping. Stir carefully and cook for 1-2 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
  • Drain the nokedli well and add them to the chicken paprikash. Stir carefully to coat them with the sauce. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve.

Dumplings (Nokedli):

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ½ tablespoon salt to the boiling water. Turn the heat down and let it come to a simmer.
    In the meantime, make the nokedli.
  • Beat the eggs and the sour cream with a fork in a medium bowl.
  • Add the salt and slowly start adding the flour while beating with the fork until the mixture is smooth.
    Depending on the size of your eggs, you might need one extra tablespoon of flour. Or ½ - 1 tablespoon less if your eggs are small. The batter should be pretty thick and slowly fall off the fork.
  • Simmer: Add the dumplings to the water using a teaspoon, which should only be half full of batter. Simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Drain well before adding them to the chicken paprikash.

Notes

  1. You can use chicken quarters which you will have to cut in two parts at the joint (See Expert Tips). Or you can make the paprikash with a whole medium chicken divided into 8 parts (save the wings and the backbone for making chicken stock).
  2. Traditionally, sunflower oil, but the choice of oil is not crucial. Use whatever you have.
  3. Use the best quality authentic Hungarian sweet paprika.
  4. Homemade or a good quality brand.
  5. Traditionally, you would use smetana, but sour cream or Greek yogurt is fine.
    I recommend weighing the flour with a digital kitchen scale; it’s about balancing the dry and wet ingredients.
  6. Removing the skin is optional, but I prefer it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the dish | Calories: 752kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 75g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g | Cholesterol: 285mg | Sodium: 872mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g