Crișana Chicken Paprikash with Separately Boiled Dumplings

Papricaș de pui crișean is a regional chicken paprikash associated with Crișana and documented in Bihor. The selected recipe appears in Rețete tradiționale de Bihor, a 2023 regional collection, under the Romanian name Papricaș de pui cu găluște and the Hungarian name Csirkepaprikás. The book credits the household formula to Szabo József and Gizela of Diosig. It describes paprika as the defining seasoning and wheat-flour dumplings, known as nokedli or nokerli, as the preferred accompaniment. This page follows that Bihor record rather than combining several paprikash styles into one recipe.

The method has a useful distinction: the dumplings cook in a separate pot of water. They are drained, briefly rinsed and lightly oiled before meeting the creamy chicken sauce. That keeps the dumplings from taking up all the liquid as the paprikash thickens. The chicken is browned first, then set aside while onion, garlic and tomato soften. Water creates the simmering base; ground red peppers and the chicken return to the pot. Sour cream whisked with a little flour and hot cooking liquid finishes the sauce. Fold the cooked nokedli in gently at the end.

The source lists 1.5 kilograms of chicken thighs for four to six servings, along with onion, garlic, tomato, oil, paprika, ground pepper, sour cream and flour. It gives 500 grams of flour and two eggs for the dumplings. Its wording for the three ground peppers is unusual; this recipe interprets it practically as three dried red peppers, ground, without assigning a specific variety or heat. The separate teaspoon of paprika remains in the recipe. Salt and black pepper are added to taste, as in the source.

The source does not give a precise simmer duration for the thighs, so the cooking time here is an estimate. Size and bone-in pieces affect how long they need. Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer and check each thigh at its thickest point, away from the bone, until it reaches 74°C / 165°F. A food thermometer is needed for this safety check; tenderness is a separate quality cue. The listed 60-minute cooking estimate includes browning, simmering, dumpling boiling and thickening, but allow extra time if the chicken has not reached temperature.

For the dumplings, the book gives flour, eggs, water, oil and salt, then instructs the cook to make a firm dough and cut small pieces into boiling water. The pieces should be about 1.5 to 2 centimetres. Once they float, boil them for two more minutes, drain, rinse with cold water and toss with a little reserved oil. The source does not state the amount of salt in the dumpling water or the quantity of oil used after rinsing, so both are treated as practical seasoning rather than added measurements.

Paprikash is shared across households and borders, and the Bihor collection places this version in a Hungarian culinary tradition. The regional association is part of the recipe’s context; it does not mean every Crișana household uses the same ratio or technique. Here, the specific combination of browned chicken, tomato, paprika, sour cream and separate nokedli follows the cited Diosig household record. Rank 43 in this program is a different Ardeal home recipe: it drops a softer egg-flour batter straight into the tomato chicken sauce and omits sour cream. Keeping those methods separate preserves each recipe’s identity.

Serve the paprikash hot, with chicken and dumplings in each bowl and enough sauce to coat both. The sauce should be creamy and spoonable, not pasty; stir gently after adding the thickener and stop once it has thickened. If it tightens while standing, loosen it with a small splash of hot water. Refrigerate leftovers promptly in shallow containers and reheat them gently until steaming throughout and 74°C / 165°F. The recipe is substantial enough for a family lunch or supper, matching the Bihor book’s description of this dish as everyday food.