First, there's no "h" in paprikas - the "s" in Hungarian is pronounced like "sh." Agree with many others that sour cream is not negotiable. My Budapest-born grandmother never added tomatoes, just lots of onions and one green pepper. Mixing hot and sweet paprika makes for a richer but not spicy-hot dish. Sifton's added step of baking in the oven is a waste of time better used to make nockerl than use ordinary egg noodles. If you want chicken with crispy skin, roast a chicken instead!
5
My Hungarian grandmother NEVER added liquid to her paprikash. She slowly sauteed a large quantity of chopped onions till they were translucent, then mixed them with several tablespoons of paprika and simmered for a few minutes. Bone in chicken parts, salted and peppered, came next, along wth two or three hot or sweet Hungarian peppers.
The pot was then tightly covered, and allowed to simmer until the meat almost fell off the bones and a large amount of liquid had been released.
Sour cream, blended with a bit of flour, was added just before serving...always over nockerl.
Making nockerl calls for a strong wrist and a lot of patience: The dough is placed on a handled chopping board with a tapered end, and rolled into a cigar shape. One by one, bits of dough are flicked into the waiting pot of boiling water. As the finished nockerl float to the top they are removed with a slotted spoon and the process begins all over again. Not for the faint-hearted, but it was food for the gods.
The pot was then tightly covered, and allowed to simmer until the meat almost fell off the bones and a large amount of liquid had been released.
Sour cream, blended with a bit of flour, was added just before serving...always over nockerl.
Making nockerl calls for a strong wrist and a lot of patience: The dough is placed on a handled chopping board with a tapered end, and rolled into a cigar shape. One by one, bits of dough are flicked into the waiting pot of boiling water. As the finished nockerl float to the top they are removed with a slotted spoon and the process begins all over again. Not for the faint-hearted, but it was food for the gods.
3
Mother browned the chicken well, and used a good amount of onion. Sour cream always. And sometimes some chopped parsley at the end to contrast with orange paprikrash magma. Dad preferred it wth mashed potatoes.
Many times as good or better the next day with noodles.
I've had it at ethnic restaurants without sour cream. The texture and the taste is not as appealing.
Many times as good or better the next day with noodles.
I've had it at ethnic restaurants without sour cream. The texture and the taste is not as appealing.
2
The Hungarian "community" who live on the upper East Side delight in showing me how paprika works in lasagna, for instance. The spice is sold in local shoppes in containers that look like tubes of toothpaste. My friend, long gone now, Tibor Dobszy, a noted chef at the Cafe Artistes joint, literally sprinkled paprika on everything! Thank you for insisting on fresh!!
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So many rules, so little time. Geez people take their Arbitrary "little truths" seriously don't they ? So vehement about certain things aren't some ?
Sour Cream ? No way on earth - Ever. What terrible terrible stuff. But I certainly don't expect others to abide by that.
Sour Cream ? No way on earth - Ever. What terrible terrible stuff. But I certainly don't expect others to abide by that.
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It's can't be paprikas without sour cream, but it can be porkolt.
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What utter nonsense about jewish dish or not, my mother was Hungarian and we are Jewish. Its a Hungarian dish period. Its variants are like any ethnic dish dependent on the region of the country and personal adaptations. So if you have the Chicken , paprika and garlic the rest is up to you.
As for what you want to use to mop up the lovely gravy/sauce its up to your individual tastes.
As for what you want to use to mop up the lovely gravy/sauce its up to your individual tastes.
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oh do tell, sam sifton, where does one get fresh paprika? in oregon? your suggestions are sage like, invaluable, and yet in your story not a trace of a suggestion. please be more specific!!!!
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Chicken paprikash is not a Jewish dish. It always has sour cream (and nokedli, not dumplings or noodles or whatever.) Usually, the chicken is not browned. There's no garlic, ever; and my Hungarian grandmother did add green pepper, but sometimes she didn't.
While there are many wonderful dishes in the Jewish home cooking realm, there's no such thing as kosher chicken paprikash.
While there are many wonderful dishes in the Jewish home cooking realm, there's no such thing as kosher chicken paprikash.
11
I believe nokedli MEANS dumplings. We always had it with those. And lots of sour cream for our non-observant Jewish Hungarian family! My favorite dish in the whole world ...
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Totally agree with all statements! This dish is not kosher. Also, tomato in the dish is negotiable but sour cream is not!
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There is in fact "Jewish" chicken paprikash. It is the version of the dish that Hungarian Jews made and what I grew up eating many Sundays at my grandmother's home. I now continue making it, never with sour cream and always with a lot of garlic. As the article says, there are many version of this delicious dish, including the kosher version.
3
There are lots of variations. My mom used to make it like creamed chicken. (And once with turkey on Christmas Day.)
I used to get it from a kosher-style deli where it was made with bone-in pieces and a brothy/oily sauce. No cream.
I make it with peppers and onions, with sour cream, sometimes bone-in and sometimes boneless chunks.
The only hard and fast rule is paprika.
I used to get it from a kosher-style deli where it was made with bone-in pieces and a brothy/oily sauce. No cream.
I make it with peppers and onions, with sour cream, sometimes bone-in and sometimes boneless chunks.
The only hard and fast rule is paprika.
4
Store the sparingly used spices in airtight jars in the freezer and they will be bright and fresh when you need them, even in a few months.
11
Sour cream essential. Dark meat better than breast. Noodles crucial to gather the sauce.
Is chicken paprikash a Jewish dish?
Is chicken paprikash a Jewish dish?
4
It's an Eastern European dish, specifically Hungarian. As many Jews at one time lived in Hungary, there is a popular Kosher version that many Jews make.
6
How about skinless (but bone in) chicken pieces and if you really want the fatty crunch of skin cook it like the onions to be sprinkled on top? Is "greiben" the right word?
4
That would be the crispy remains of rendered chicken fat. When you are done, you have liquid schmatlz (that congeals and keeps and will be great for next week's matzo balls) and what would be called cracklings if they were pork. A little salt on them, a lot of crunch, and if you are alone in the kitchen, a treat for the cook.
1
Yes! This is how I do it. Grebenes.
1
At our restaurant, Elderberry Pond, in Upstate NY we make this dish with our own pasture raised Label Rouge chickens and the Hungarian Buldog paprika is grown, dried and ground here on the farm. The only comment we have received is that it should be served on Knadles, a German bread dumpling rather than on buttered noodles. I remember these dumplings from my childhood and we plan to try the next batch with these.
8
Hungarians serve Paprikash with what they call nokedli, and the Germans and Austrians call spaetzels. They're simple egg and flour dumplings boiled quickly in water.
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My variation cooks quickly and uses cut-up boneless chicken breasts, shredded carrots instead of tomatoes (sweeter), and plain no-fat yogurt if I want to hold the calories down. If it's too bland some groubd white pepper helps. This version is easier to serve and easier for young children who haven't mastered cutting skills to the level of coping with chicken on the bone. Their parents are happy to pay attention to their own dinner.
1
sorry, everyone. I first wrote my comment on a smartphone, but I thought it didn't go through, and it was hours and hours before the review team got around to vetting the comments. So my humble comments are there twice.
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You're forgiven ... Have to say, your idea sounds fine but has nothing to do with chicken paprikas!
7
In my own variation, which cooks more quickly, I use cubes of cut-up and trimmed chicken breasts, add grated carrots for sweetness and color (in place of tomatoes) If I want to reduce calories, substitute a non-watery plain yogurt for the sour cream. If it's too bland, try some ground white pepper. The small pieces are more convenient and young children who haven't yet learned to cope with cutting up chicken on the bone (and this dish has a colorful sauce that can make a real mess) have no problem, and the parents don't have to help out.
2
I'm glad your children like this and that it's colorful. But I must tell you that a chicken paprikash made with boneless chicken breasts, fat-free yogurt and no tomatoes is....pretty much my definition of revolting diet food. I would much rather eat something genuinely delicious, in a half-portion.
5
Instead of reducing the calories by substituting yogurt, try reducing the portion size. Calories are the metric unit of taste.
5
i wonder if paprika is the same as the red chillies we use in Indian cooking?
The Indian equivalent to paprika would be Kashmiri (sweet) Mirch/Chillies.
4
And what about the butter? If you omit the sour cream because you're kosher use schmaltz -- or use schmaltz anyway. And forget about the canola oil.
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Obviously if you're skipping the sour cream you're going to skip the butter as well. I just substitute olive oil. Seems to work fine.
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Schmaltz tastes better.
2
There's just one tiny problem here, Sam, and that is that most [like, 99%] of spices and herbs come in relatively large jars. Unless one is cooking for either an army or a big family, it's impossible to use up the contents of a jar before the stuff goes stale. Or off. Or whatever. I understand it doesn't make economic sense for merchants to package seasonings in small containers, so tell me — all of us? — what to do. Can we keep stuff fresh by sealing it in airtight containers? Tightly capped and in dark cupboards? Frozen? Better yet, can you persuade merchants to offer spices and herbs in smaller containers?
14
I sympathize and solve the problem by buying spices in small amounts from bulk bins (and save a lot of money doing so). At my local natural market it's usually only a dollar or so to refill a spice jar. It's even a bargain at Whole Foods. I love to cook with spices and herbs and keep a wide variety. To made sure they are fresh, I switch out some of the less used throughout the year
Some stores carry bulk spices that the customer portions out into a bag or a container. Good for a couple of servings or a hundred.
Sandy's question occurred to me as I read the first sentence of Sifton's article. I hope we get an answer. I will try freezing it. Maybe some health food stores carry it in bulk so we can buy small portions. But Sandy raises an important question. I suspect this same issue is pertinent to other spices as well. Like lots of other people, we've got lots of jars of spices that have been barely used but have been in the cabinet for years.
It is not chicken paprikásh without the sour cream! What is pictured is chicken pörkölt, which is on the way to making chicken paprikásh! Paprika the ground spice is essential; the small amount of tomato and sweet bell pepper are optional depending on region and family tradition. The sour cream and flour are used to finish the dish. Both my Hungarian born grandmothers used sweet bell pepper and tomato. Traditional chicken paprikásh is always served with "nokedli" which is similar to Spaetzle. It is never served over noodles!
17
And, of course, the paprika must be noble and sweet Hungarian. The Spanish pimenton is lovely, but hasn't the proper aroma or flavor -- as my Magyar grandmother said.
2
A picture is worth a thousand words.
But crisp chicken skin will not sustain much smelting before it becomes a strip of wasted chicken skin. Better to chop it fine and sprinkle over the top of the proposed goulash.
Carry on!
But crisp chicken skin will not sustain much smelting before it becomes a strip of wasted chicken skin. Better to chop it fine and sprinkle over the top of the proposed goulash.
Carry on!
3
I always pull off the skin and make grebenes. Use the fat in cooking and add the cracklings when it's done!
1