Chicken Paprikash is a meal that is packed with vitamin-c while also being comforting and delicious. Although it’s one of my favorite dishes, I tend to shy away from making it because of the stress and mess involved in creating tiny dumplings. This method gives you that same chewy, comforting texture without the sticky struggle over boiling water. Now this is my go-to meal when my family is sick or when I am looking for a healthy, comforting meal.
No-Lump Secret
By mixing the flour into the creams first, you avoid pesky white flour pockets in the final sauce.
What Paprika Should I Choose?
While a good quality paprika is necessary, I recommend choosing based on your preference as well. There are different kinds of paprika, smoky, Hungarian, sweet, and spicy. While Hungarian is traditionally used in this dish, use your own judgement and know that you are entitled to creative freedom in your kitchen. For more information on paprika, Click Here.
Achieving the Ideal Consistency
To help assist your dumpling journey, I have provided a photo that shows the texture of your dumpling batter should be before you proportion and boil.
Alternative Ingredients
chicken thighs – chicken breasts, button mushrooms, turkey breasts, pork tenderloin, Portobello mushrooms
red bell peppers – orange or yellow bell pepper, jarred fire roasted red bell peppers,
white onion – shallot, leek, or any common onion variety
heavy cream – full fat coconut milk, half and half,
sour cream – yogurt, cream cheese, goat cheese, crème fraiche
flour – corn starch, potato starch,
garlic powder – minced garlic or garlic paste
Chicken Paprikash with a Dumpling Hack
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Heat a large sauce pan on high heat with water and 1 tsp of salt.
- In a medium or large bowl mix the eggs and ½ cup water just until smoothly combined. Pour in your flour, baking powder and the leftover 1 tsp of salt. Once all these dry ingredients are in the bowl stir everything together until smooth. This mixture will be thick, try not to overstir but ensure everything is properly combined.
- Once the water is boiling, take a measuring cup, ⅓ cup, grab an overflowing scoop of the batter in the measuring cup. Use a silicone spatula to get the dough out of the measuring cup, pouring the batter directly into the boiling water. Let the dumpling boil for 10-13 minutes. When the dumpling starts floating the top half can stick out of the water. I found that if you flip the dumpling halfway through cooking it helps ensures all sides are being boiled. Do not worry about any sticking to the bottom of the pan, they will float and unstick on their own while they cook.
- Once you remove a dumpling, set it aside to cool and repeat the process until all the batter is gone. Once the dumplings are cool enough, cut or tear the large dumpling pieces into smaller, bite size pieces. I found that this step can be done easily with a pizza cutter.
- Dice your onion into small pieces. Remove the seedy middle and green stem from your red bell pepper. Take a blender and pulse the bell peppers until they are chopped into small pieces, do not blend them into a puree. This method leaves a lot of liquid in your blender, this is what we want! This will help you keep the chicken moist and enhance your saucy texture.
- Take a medium or small bowl and pour in the heavy cream, sour cream, tomato paste, and flour. Stirring with a silicone spatula until smooth is the easiest method for this step. Take 2 tbsp of your paprika and your black pepper and use it to season your chicken thighs.
- Take a large deep skillet and put it on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. Add your cooking oil, allow this to sit for 1 minute then add your onion, red bell pepper, the rest of your paprika, garlic powder, and salt. Allow this to cook uncovered for 2-3 minutes. You will know it is time to add the chicken when everything starts to look warm and the juice from the red bell pepper begins to bubble.
- Use tongs to nestle the seasoned chicken into the vegetable mixture. You want them to be able to sit in the juice to absorb the flavor. Turn the heat down to medium, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Take the lid off after this time is up and allow everything to cook for another 5 minutes. The extra 5 minutes allows your red bell pepper's juice to evaporate a bit. If there is too much juice, your sauce will be too thin. Stir in your cream mixture (flour, tomato paste, heavy cream, sour cream) and let this cook for another 5 minutes, turn the heat down if your pan is above a simmer.
- Put the dumplings in a bowl with your saucy chicken and you are ready to serve!
