Chicken Paprikash – Hungarian Chicken in Creamy Paprika Sauce

Cut the thigh meat into pieces about 4 cm across and toss with 4 g of salt. Finely chop the onion, finely dice the fresh bell pepper and chop the tomato, keeping all its juice. Have ready a heavy-bottomed pot about 24 cm in diameter with a capacity of at least 3 l and a well-fitting lid.

Heat all the oil in the pot over medium-low heat, add the onion and cook for about 8–10 minutes, stirring often. The onion should soften and turn translucent, becoming no more than lightly golden. Do not brown it deeply, so the sauce base stays mild.

Add the fresh bell pepper and tomato with all its juice and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir until the tomato starts to break down and the bell pepper softens; a moist layer of vegetables should remain on the bottom. Do not let it cook dry.

Take the pot off the heat, add the ground sweet paprika and briefly stir it into the vegetables. Immediately pour in all 300 ml of water and stir again, loosening the soft bits of onion from the bottom. Do not fry ground paprika on a dry, hot surface, as it burns and turns bitter easily.

Add the chicken to the sauce, add the remaining 4 g of salt and all the pepper, then stir. Set the pot over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 25–30 minutes. The sauce should bubble gently; stir the chicken a few times so all the pieces cook evenly.

Remove the largest piece of chicken and cut into its center: the meat should be hot, completely opaque and cooked through, without a raw, translucent center, and the fibers should separate easily with a fork. If it is not ready, simmer everything with the lid on for about another 5–10 minutes and check again. Return the piece you checked to the pot and take the pot off the heat while you temper the sour cream.

In a bowl, thoroughly mix the sour cream with all the flour until no lumps remain. Gradually add about 150 ml of the hot paprika sauce from the pot, whisking vigorously after each addition. The mixture should be smooth and warm.

Pour the tempered sour cream into the pot, scraping the bowl thoroughly, and gently stir it into the chicken. Set over low heat and bring to a very gentle simmer, then cook without the lid for about 5–7 minutes, stirring along the bottom. The sauce should thicken, coat the chicken evenly and lose its raw flour taste; do not let it boil rapidly so the sour cream does not curdle.

Divide the chicken into 4 portions, adding the creamy sauce and softened vegetables from the pot to each. Serve the hot paprikash immediately, using all the chicken and all the sauce.