Paprikás csirke

The story

Paprikás csirke rests on a spice that reached Hungary fairly late. Peppers came from the Americas and arrived during the Ottoman wars of the 16th century, long known as Turkish pepper and first used as medicine. An 18th-century book records them growing in peasant gardens, and by the early 19th century paprika was raised for market. The paprika stews developed alongside, and Daily News Hungary dates chicken paprikash to around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. What sets it apart from pörkölt, the plain paprika stew, is the finish: sour cream stirred in with a spoonful of flour until the sauce turns smooth and creamy. It is served with nokedli, small soft egg dumplings, and usually with a sharp cucumber salad. The dish also has a place in English literature. On the first page of Dracula, Jonathan Harker dines at the Hotel Royale in Klausenburg, now Cluj-Napoca, on chicken done up some way with red pepper, which he calls paprika hendl, and reminds himself to get the recipe for Mina. In Hungary, Valentine's Day has been celebrated only since 1990. Pour a dry Hungarian white wine and keep dessert simple.