Chicken Paprikash

Paprikash is a delicious stew-like dish from Hungary, with a centuries old history. The main flavoring ingredient of the dish is paprika, from which the dish’s name also originates. It is believed that it was created by the farmers of southern Hungary, the area famous for excellent quality paprika. The Hungarian National Cookbook published in 1830 contains a recipe for chicken paprikash.

The name of the dish has its origin in the Hungarian word ‘paprikás’ meaning pepper. Many types of vegetables and fruits were taken back to Europe from the Americas by the explorers during the 16th century, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers among them. Hungary became the center of red pepper cultivation thanks to suitable soil and weather conditions. And paprika – dried and powdered red pepper – was born.

The dish paprikash can be made with any meat – lamb, pork or veal – or even a mix of vegetables. However, originally the dish was made with chicken, that too, the tougher parts of chicken. Chicken is the meat most commonly used for paprikash today as well.

I have used chicken drumsticks for this recipe.

You can buy paprika in sweet, hot, and smoked varieties in the US but Hungary has seven official gradations for classifying paprika. Any of the versions will work for this recipe.

The original version of the dish cooked in Hungary does not contain tomatoes, but many versions include them. Even when tomatoes are added, it is a small quantity. I have followed the NY Times version here, of course with variations. 

Paprika starts to lose its flavor after a few months. So it is better to store the paprika in the refrigerator. 

Traditionally, paprikash used to be served with dumplings, but egg noodles have become the norm these days. You can also serve it with crusty bread. And I personally love it served over a bed of mashed potatoes.