This recipe was found at Simply Recipes. I haven't tried Chicken Paprikash before, and I still haven't. Ha ha I say this because I didn't have the hot paprika, so I put a bit of ground ancho chile instead. I have to find some spices that are used in the recipes I am finding that are not your common spices. It is a challenge and I find it fun to figure out where to find them, as then I get to go to different types of stores here in Knoxville to find them! :)
Chicken Paprikash
Serves 4-6
2 to 2 1/2 pounds of chicken pieces, preferably thighs and legs (I used thin-cut chicken breasts)
Salt
2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 pounds yellow onions, (about 2-3 large onions)Black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp sweet paprika, preferably Hungarian
1 teaspoon (or to taste), hot paprika or cayenne
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt the chicken pieces well and let them sit at room temperature while you cut the onions. Slice the onions lengthwise (top to root).
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt the butter. When the butter is hot, pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels and place them skin-side down in the pan. Let the chicken pieces cook 4-5 minutes on one side, until well browned, then turn them over and let them cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. (Take care when turning so as not to tear the skin if any is sticking to the pan.) Remove the chicken from the pan to a bowl, set aside.
Add the sliced onions to the sauté pan and cook them, stirring occasionally, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.
Add the sliced onions to the sauté pan and cook them, stirring occasionally, scraping up the browned bits from the chicken, until lightly browned, about 7 minutes.
Add the paprika and some black pepper to the onions and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth, again scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and then nestle the chicken pieces into the pan, on top of the onions. Cover and cook on a low simmer for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces). When the chicken is cooked through (at least 165° if you use a thermometer, or if the juices run clear, not pink when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a knife) remove the pan from the heat. (If you want, you can also keep cooking the chicken until it begins to fall off the bone, which may take another 30 minutes or so.)
Add the paprika and some black pepper to the onions and stir to combine. Add the chicken broth, again scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and then nestle the chicken pieces into the pan, on top of the onions. Cover and cook on a low simmer for 20-25 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken pieces). When the chicken is cooked through (at least 165° if you use a thermometer, or if the juices run clear, not pink when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a knife) remove the pan from the heat. (If you want, you can also keep cooking the chicken until it begins to fall off the bone, which may take another 30 minutes or so.)
When the chicken is done to your taste, remove the chicken from the pan. Allow the pan to cool for a minute and then slowly stir in the sour cream and add salt to taste. If the sour cream cools the sauce too much, turn the heat back on just enough to warm it through. Add the chicken back to the pan and coat with the sauce.
Serve with dumplings, rice, egg noodles or potatoes. (If cooking gluten-free, serve with rice, potatoes or gluten-free noodles or dumplings.)
Okay, obviously I didn't use any of these starches. :) I used mashed cauliflower and peas.
Sorry about my English, but I hope you can understan that I wrote :)
Gabriella who commented above me makes it almost EXACTLY like my mother does: uses the whole cut up chicken, some tomato and half a green pepper (not that many onions though). Uses water, not broth (you’re using a whole raw chicken, you’re not going to need broth – it will make its own broth). My mother uses way more than 1 tablespoon of paprika though. She also uses the imported kind: the sweet, not the hot.
And yes, you MUST have nokedly with it. It’s just not the same dish without it. Have you ever had a hamburger without the bun? Peanut butter without jelly? Popcorn without butter? Then you’ll have a sense of what you’re missing if you have Paprikas Csirke without the nokedly.
We also mixed the sourcream w/ some flour and put it in at the end, and served the sauce over the homeade dumplings, yum, i can taste it now…
you remember the wonderful clicking sound
of the spoon hitting the spatzell dough on the plate as your grandmother or mother dropped it
off into the boiling water.
Flour,eggs, water, salt.
mix in a bowl =nokedly=spatzell=”little sparrow” shaped pasta.
Can be bought by Knorr
in international isle of market or from
most german mail orders on line..
Hungarian Food is the most wonderful food,
I love German food too, and Italian..
No matter how you serve Chicken Paprikas
it brings tears of joy. Images of grandma
cooking over a wood burning stove,
also stuffed cabbage rolls, fried cabbage
and noodles.
Mom and I making dumplings and testing them
to see how good they were..before the sauce
was poured on top.. and its a great food
to sneak at midnight and eat cold (wink)
Blessings to all who cook Hungarian
Pachuri Daj Romma Hungaria..
ps there can never be too much sour cream :)
I do not add water to it. Water dilutes the flavor. If you have to add fluids becuase it’s dry add chicken stock..just a little..otherwise just add sour cream and let it simmer with it for a little while before adding the noodles or nokedly and again let it simmer on low heat a little. The simmering allows for the noodles to absorb the flavor. Most hungarian households serve it this way and not just spooned over the noodles.
As for nokedly ….it not something you can just throw together. It’s an art that needs to be perfected. I still can’t make it as good as my mother makes it.
Throw some boneless chicken breasts in your slow cooker with a few cans of chicken broth, chopped onions and garlic, pepper(as much and whatever kind you want) , a chunk of butter, salt, and a handful of paprika. Hungarian “sweet” paprika is good, but any kind will do. Cook it overnight or for 4-6 hours.
Throw in about a cup of sour cream and stir. Then add some corn starch, smoothly blended in water to thicken it. Add some cooked noodles last.
I used to really like it when boneless chicken breasts were available with the skins still on. The chicken fat adds something to the overall flavor. Bones do too. As often as I can, I use regular bone-in breasts. But after slow-cooking, lots of little rib bones are annoying.
Do whatever you want — the basic combo is a classic and you can’t go wrong.
I saute onions and garlic (and sometimes cabbage) in some butter, then add in the chicken, some water or broth (I like to use Goya brand chicken/tomato bullion;it makes the paprikash really red), and dried mushrooms (totally optional).
When it’s nearly heated thru, and the mushrooms have almost fully reconstituted, I throw in a ton of fresh Hungarian paprika and a little bit of cinnamon (it’s good; try it). Simmer for another few minutes.
I serve it over egg noodles or purchased pirogies, with sour creme. I keep the sour creme separate, and mix it in when I eat it.
Return to low heat, cover and simmer, stiring accasionaly until meat is starting to fall off bones. Do not add any more liquids as the juices from the chicken will produce enough sauce with more intense flavor. Mix a medium container of sour cream with a couple Tbsp of flour. Slowly add some of the hot liquid from the chicken to the sour cream (to prevent curdling) and stir in to the paprikash. Serve over home made nokedly. Cucumber salad in sour cream is a great accompaniment to this dish.
I learned that not only each region in Hungary had their own way of making Paprikash but also each household. Either way, it’s one of the best, simple dishes in the world.
Also can substitute cubed beef and pork for the chicken.
Thank you for reminding me of home:)
My sweetie had a girlfriend many moons past who made it the best!!
I have no talent or a liking for that region of European cooking but I would like to find a recipe that he really loves..as I do like to please him I hope this one will! :D
Thanks!!
Love the recipe – looks pretty straightforward. I mean how can one go wrong with so many onions – love it caramelized and the sweetness will go well with the chicken.
Kartik
I will try it with just paprika the next time I make it–how is it with smoked paprika?
Haven’t tried it with smoked paprika but sounds like it would be good. Thanks for the suggestion! ~Elise
Yes, but taste it first to make sure it hasn’t gone flat yet. ~Elise
I use a tube of paprika paste (in several stews other than just paprikash). The flavor seems to last longer and I highly recommend it!
Yes it’s normal. And you can use as much or as little sour cream as you want. It makes the sauce creamier and tangy-er. ~Elise
Now. I have a nice simple delicious weeknight recipe.
Thanks so much!
Thank you Elise for this and so many other amazing recipes.
I’m lazy and don’t make my own spaetzle but a local company makes wonderful fresh spaetzle.
Take the bones out of your chicken thighs and make stock. About a dozen thighs will make just enough very rich stock for the dish. Coincidental? I think not. :) I use smoked and sweet paprika and no sour cream. Dad doesn’t like it so Mom never used it. It’s still wonderful and flavorful. Even better the next day.
The dish in the picture looks more like Chicken Pörkölt than Chicken Paprikash (Paprikás). The only difference between the two is that the paprikash has sour cream and flour added to it. The picture above shows that too little sour cream was used. The authentic paprikash has a creamy sauce and is typically served with spaetzle (or “nokedli” in Hungarian).
Culinaria Hungary calls for 1 2/3 cups of sour cream mixed with 2 Tbsp flour, a 2.5 pound chicken, 2 bell peppers, 1 large tomato, 1 large onion, and 1 tsp paprika (I use 5 times that amount). Ideally the chicken is cooked only in its own juices.
One of the best known and most widely used Hungarian cookbooks in Hungary is by Ilona Horváth titled “Szakácskönyv” (or “Cookbook”). This also calls for peppers and tomato when making this dish. It mentions adding water, especially when an older bird is used. But Ilona’s book was written at a time when chickens were raised and processed differently and contained less water. (Her recipe only calls for about about 1/2 cup of sour cream.)
I’ve made paprikash many times in the US and never once had to add water.
You can buy Hungarian paprika from the web. Otto’s Import Store & Deli sells it inexpensively. I also bought it from The Spice House.
One more thing to add here: paprika in Hungary is the name of the spice as well as word “pepper.”
But I have to say that it sets my teeth on edge when you get such definitive statements: “This isn’t paprikash.” “This isn’t oyster stew.” etc. I wonder if it makes you as crazy as it makes me. I love that you post the things the way your family actually makes them. And I doubt that everyone all over the world makes things exactly the way those “definitive statement” people do either.
Hi Julie – I think it just goes to show how passionate we can be about the foods we grew up with. ~Elise
Here are the changes I made: I used 1.3lb of boneless, skinless thighs and I used light sour cream. Some other changes: instead of salting the chicken, I used cajun seasoning salt. I used 2T of Spanish Paprika (because that’s what I found at the store), and 1t of Chiptle Chili Powder.
My version has 9 points per serving.
A note about Paprika…what most Americans use is pretty awful, and it gets old on the store shelf. Pride of Szeged or Penzeys are my favorite brands, and Penzeys has always been fresh. Be careful not to scorch the paprika or it can be bitter. And make sure the pan is NOT boiling before adding the sour cream or it might curdle. Tempering the sour cream is needed, but cool the pan a bit before adding it.
I am glad everyone likes this recipe. :-)
http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/03/spaetzle/
I use a lot of paprika in the bread crumbs when I make fried chicken…
Well, it definitely isn’t crispy anymore. But it’s still good. ~Elise
I’m loving reading all the passionate comments from loyal Hungarians. I’ll definitely be making this one again, using some of the recommendations above. And hopefully by the end of summer, I’ll be making this with my own homegrown paprika (sprouts are coming up now)!
Thank you for posting!
Thanks Elise!
One of my eaters was drinking up the sauce, just like you said!
OMG! It is sooooo good. My hard-to-impress-unless-it-costs-at-least-$15/dish husband loved it each time. There is no reason to make this dish with boneless skinless chicken breast unless that is all you have and you really want to try this. There is no comparison; you must have the skin and the juices that are derived from fresh chicken pieces on the bone. Hands down, game over, you win.
Hi Julie, if you needed to doctor it up, I would definitely check your spices. Paprika goes flat easily. Also you need to salt to taste. ~Elise
Your blog’s awesome and I look forward to making more of your recipes.
Thanks!!!!!!!
Also I am just wondering if sour cream ever gets curdled in a sauce (from overboiling) is it still safe to eat?
If you reheat it, don’t let it get close to boiling or it will curdle. If it does curdle, it’s safe to eat, it just doesn’t look that appetizing and it may have a bumpy texture. ~Elise
Tonight I had the reheated leftovers over a baked sweet potato and it was outstanding–both in flavor and orangeness. I’m definitely adding this recipe to my regulars. Thank you!
Delicious and different. I am on a low carb diet and am very thankful for something interesting and new. I added saffron to mine — not that it needed it I’m sure (I just had a serious hankering for saffron). I’m a baby about hot spices and found about 1/4 or so tsp of cayenne was perfect for me. I made very saucy and served it over cauliflower “rice” for a complete meal.
Healthy, yummy and low-carb. A new favorite.
Thanks!
I am a vege-holic, so I reduced the onion to 1 and added a red bell pepper, green bell pepper, zucchini and a summer squash. The chicken I had on hand happened to be boneless and skinless, so it cooked in a lot less time.
All in all, it was a super delicious recipe that uses a lot of on hand items in the pantry. Thank you for catching my eye!
let’s take a whole chix cut up
season with salt,pepper,onion powder,garlic powder and of course PAPRIKA
in another bowl season some flour along with chix
heat oil in pan
dipchix in flour mix,,,brown,,,set aside
in same pan brown a few onions, some green pepper AND celery (nobody mentioned this ingredient, VERY IMPORTANT!)
don’t be shy with paprika
toss this w/chix bake in covered pan until chix is tender
add some chix broth if needed
remove from oven
strain
add chix broth and sour cream to form a nice consistency
pour over chix mixture!
yummmmmmmmm
the trick folks is the green pepper and celery
it doesn’t matter what u serve it over but he just uses egg noodles
- Added 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
- Used beef stock instead of chicken stock
The flavour was amazing. The recipe is not difficult, and has mostly simple ingredients. Served it over egg noodles, with some green veggies on the side. The family loved it and the sauce is so delish!
Not so, thanks to this recipe and the amazing comments that follow. The man LOVED the meal.
A couple of things I changed:
1) I used 3 cups of chicken broth so that I had lots of soupy stuff for the bread
2) I doubled the paprika amount, mostly because I added more broth
3) I added 4 yukon gold potatoes, quartered
4) I added 2 red peppers, chopped
5) Salt and more salt
And then I cooked it for one hour, but took the lid off after 30 minutes so the broth reduced.
And there it was, sooooo yummy.
This recipe was so easy to follow. I only changed a few things out of necessity/habit.
I only had 1 white onion, so that’s what I used.
I only had regular old Paprika, so that’s what I used.
I lightly dredged the chicken in salted flour because that is just how I am used to browning my chicken.
I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs because that’s what I had.
I used low fat sour cream because that’s what I had :).
I only had cream of chicken and not chicken stock, so I just dumped in the cream of chicken and diluted it with about half a can of water. I then sprinkled on a little poultry seasoning.
I did not measure the Paprika because that’s no fun and instead just doused enough on the onions to cover them with color!
I’m crazy about egg noodles, so that’s what I used.
The end result? I AM IN LOVE! This is easily now one of my top 5 favorite dishes and I will be making up for lost time by cooking this often.
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful meal! You have changed my Sunday suppers forever!
Karen