Have you ever wondered how to cook Hungarian dishes the way we do it at home?
Well, look no further, because I am compiling the recipes that my mother taught me! I will be starting with the foundational Hungarian Dishes, but I am planning on writing up other types of foods that I know how to make.
Ground Sweet Paprika, Yellow Onion, your meat of choice, garlic, ground caraway, tomato.
In no particular order, these six ingredients will be your best friends from now on. It's very simple, actually!
Dice your onion as finely as you can, and throw it into a pot with some lard or oil. At this point you can either caramellise it, or just cook it on low heat until the pieces appear translucent. I prefer to caramellise, since it helps the pieces actually dissolve into the finished stew, but my mother thinks it's a waste of time.
When the onion is ready, add in the meat. Depending on what your end goal is, the meat could be ground or diced. (like on the photo) Stir until the outside has a thin crust on it, then add in about a tablespoon (or a bit less) of ground paprika, and about a teaspoon of ground caraway seed. Though these are my go-to ratios, you should adjust it to the amount of meat you're using, since too much paprika makes it taste bitter.
Stir around, try to avoid burning it, then add in water. Don't forget to salt it! You can add your tomato to the water, but it's an optional ingredient for thw most part. The crushed/diced garlic could be added along with the other spices, but my mother prefers grating it into the water later on, so its flavour doesn't cook away. You may also use pepper, and/or your preferred source of spiciness.
Your pörkölt should be ready when the meat is tender and the water has cooked down into a thick sauce.
The simplest way to modify this dish is to mix it with rice when it's done! It's your average school cafeteria food, literally called "Meaty Rice." (rizseshús) You could go even further by laying this mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish, then layering cooked broccoli, green beans, or cauliflower. Top it with Sour Cream, and then bake until the sour cream on top goes matte. You could also add grate cheese on top, and bake until it browns! For casserole ("layered") variations like this, ground beef is usually used. The list doesn't end here, though!
Goulash soup is easy to make once you've mastered the first phase: You prepare it just like a Pörkölt until the step where you add the water. The meat used is traditionally diced beef, (about 2-3 cms in diameter) since it was the soup made by cow herders. I have made it out of chicken before, though!
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