Chicken paprikash facts for kids
Chicken paprikash (in Hungarian: paprikás csirke or csirkepaprikás) is a very popular dish from Hungary. It is one of the most famous types of "paprikás" meals in Hungarian cooking. The name comes from the large amount of paprika used, which is a key spice in Hungarian food.
This dish usually involves chicken that is cooked slowly in a rich sauce. The sauce starts with a special base called a roux, which is then mixed with lots of paprika.
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Making Chicken Paprikash
The best type of paprika for this dish is called édes nemes, which means "sweet noble" paprika. It gives the dish a lovely rosy color and a delicious flavor. Sometimes, cooks also add olive oil, sweet red or yellow peppers, and a little bit of tomato paste.
Chicken paprikash is quite similar to goulash, which is another well-known Hungarian dish that also uses a lot of paprika.
What to Serve With It
Traditionally, chicken paprikash is served with dumpling-like egg noodles called nokedli. These noodles are similar to German spätzle. Other side dishes you might find with it include tagliatelle (which are flat ribbon noodles), rice, or millet.
Different Ways to Make It
Many recipes for chicken paprikash are quite similar. For example, a famous food writer named Iles Brody had a recipe that used chicken, onions, butter or lard, sweet paprika, green peppers, tomatoes, a clove of garlic, flour, and sour cream.
While it's traditional to use chicken pieces with bones, some modern recipes might use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This makes it easier to eat!
Paprikash in Other Countries
A version of paprikash is also made in Bulgaria. In their recipe, they use smaller amounts of paprika. They add it to sautéed (lightly fried) onions at the beginning of cooking. Then, they add cubed sweet peppers, usually green ones. The Bulgarian dish often focuses more on the peppers.
Chicken paprikash became a special meal for the Jewish people in Hungary and Czechoslovakia to eat on the Sabbath (a day of rest). It is still very popular today among Ashkenazi Jews. In some places, like Romania, the dish was traditionally served with mămăligă, which is a type of cornmeal porridge.
sr:Паприкаш
