This is a minor variation of the "chicken paprika" recipe from "The Joy of Cooking."

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 tbsp Szeged paprika
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 tsp flour
• 1 cup sour cream

Method

Cut chicken into largeish chunks. Heat butter and oil in pan. Add onions and paprika, fry till glossy and red. Add chicken and broth. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Simmer uncovered till liquid reduces a bit. Add flour to sourcream. Add sourcream to pan a bit at a time and stir it in. Don't bring to a boil, but let the sauce thicken.

---

2020-03-28: This was my first attempt. I'm pretty pleased with it. Definitely a repeater.

The original recipe called for a 2.5 pound fryer, but I just used chicken breasts. I wanted thighs, but the store was out of them thanks to the coronavirus lockdown. If find myself wondering whether it would be better just to simmer it uncovered. I'll try that next time.

Source: video

Ingredients for the chicken

• 300 gms chicken breast boneless
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• Oil to pan fry

Ingredients for gravy

• 500 gms roughly slit tomatoes
• 100 gms roughly cut onions
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 50 gms cashew
• 1 tsp kasoori methi
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 5 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp cream
• 2 tbsp malt vinegar / 1.5 tbsp White Vinegar
• Salt to taste

Method

• Marinate the chicken with ginger paste, garlic paste, red chilli powder. Salt and keep it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
• In a pan heat some oil, then fry the marinated chicken pieces in it. Once done place it into a bowl.
• In the same pan add onion, oil, a spoonful of butter. Once the onions are cooked, add tomatoes and cashews.
• Add some water and garlic paste, salt, malt vinegar, sugar, garam masala, and chilli powder. Evenly mix it and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes
• Churn the mixture into fine puree with a hand blender.
• Strain it back into the same pan. Make sure there is minimal wastage.
• Add butter, cream, chicken and kasoori meethi. Let it simmer for 5-7 minutes.
• Garnish it with cream and kasoori meethi.

---

2019-01-18: I tried the recipe for the first time, but didn't have all the ingredients. Here are my comments.

• I substitute Szeged paprika instead of Kashmiri chili.
• I used rice wine vinegar instead of malt vinegar.
• I didn't have garlic/ginger paste, so I substituted chopped garlic from a jar and ginger paste from a plastic container.
• I used curry powder instead of garam masala.
• Make sure to cut the chicken into thin chunks.

I like the result. It was rather more savory than the butter chicken I had the other day at Curry Corner.

This was my first effort at cheese enchiladas.

Ingredients

• 28 oz. of Las Palmas red enchilada sauce
• 8 flour tortillas (roughly 8 inches in diameter
• 3/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 3/4 lb. sour cream
• 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Method

1. Pour enough enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish to cover the bottom.
2. Mix cheese and sour cream in a bowl.
3. Break up the cheese/sour cream mixture into eight portions. Wrap an eighth of the cheese/sour cream in a tortilla. Roll up. Place seam-side down in casserole dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
4. Pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas.
5. Pour the rest of the cheddar cheese over the top.
6. Put the casserole in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

2018-09-26

This turned out fine. I would serve it to guests.

A couple of thoughts:

• I used flour tortillas. I think corn would be tastier. (And would frying them be better?)
• The Las Palmas enchilada sauce is okay, but it's a bit more bitter than I would prefer... although I would still both make and eat and serve this to guests again.

---

Second attempt

• 28 oz can of green enchilada sauce
• 12 white corn tortillas
• Monterey jack cheese

Yup, that's it. 350° in the oven for about 25 minutes (or until some of the cheese on top starts turning brown). This worked. Next time I would probably make a roue to thicken the enchilada sauce a bit more, but perfectly good without it. If this is all there is in the fridge to cook with, I'd definitely do it again, even without the roue.

---

2018-10-10: I did this again using ricotta cheese and a medium spicy enchilada sauce. Y'know, that much ricotta doesn't have the texture or taste to be a repeater.

---

2018-10-13: This time I decided to do a sort of Mexican lasagna. White corn tortillas. Ricotta. Fried ground beef. Marinara sauce. Not bad. I could do this cooking for the family.

Noreen's chicken paprikash?

Meat prep

• 8 chicken thighs with bone
• 3 chicken breasts with bone (6 half breasts)
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tbsp paprika (sweet, not hot)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp safflower oil (This is a hi-temp oil, so it won't burn.)

Sauce

• 2 medium onions, slice
• 1/4 cup of Hungarian paprika (sweet, not hot)
• 6 cups of chicken stock
• 4 cups of sour cream
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Method

1. Put 2 tbsp of safflower oil in a pan.
2. In a large ziplock bag put the dry ingredients from the meat prep sections. Dredge the chicken pieces.
   Put the chicken in the pan skin-side down. Do it in batches so that the chicken browns, not steams. The chicken will let you know when it is time to turn it because it will release from the pan. Turn. When brown, remove from the pan. If there is too much fat, pour the excess off.
3. Add the onion, halved and sliced, to the remaining fat. Cook till soft. Add paprika. Cook briefly, stirring to bring up fond.
4. Add the chicken back on top of the onions.
5. Add chicken stock. Simmer for one hour.
6. Remove the chicken to a plate. Turn the heat off from the broth.
7. Put the sour cream in a bowl. Add 1/4 cup of flour. One ladle at a time, add the broth to the sour cream so that it doesn't clump. Do this for three ladles. The purpose is to raise the temp without causing clumping. Then add the sour cream to the broth. Mix well.
8. Add the chicken back into the broth and let it simmer while the noodles simmer. Once the nokedli are ready, serve with the chicken.

---

Notes

2016-03-06: I made this for the first time this weekend. Issues...

• I made it full size, which was ridiculous for my eating needs.
• Next, I made it in three stages. I did the browning one day, the main simmering the next, and the addition of the sour cream the third. Actually, I think it makes a lot of sense to do the browning a day ahead of time because it is labor and time intensive, whereas it would be reasonably easy to setup the rest of it.

Turned out great flavorwise. This really is Hungarian comfort food again. Works great with the nokedli. Definitely make a half recipe next time. And I would probably like it better using, say with 6-8 boneless thighs, no breasts, and halve the rest of the recipe. And definitely do major trimming of the skin, although really the skin helps the browning process and renders some great chicken fat.

Blurb from the website:

"A flavorful stew, Pörkölt is redolent with the fragrance of paprika and bell peppers. It has few ingredients, and is surprisingly easy to make. Save time by using boneless pork chops and cubing them after they are browned. There should be enough salt in the canned tomatoes to season the stew, but if not, add more to your taste. Use best-quality, real Hungarian paprika for best results. We prefer to serve it with noodles, but galuska (Hungarian dumplings) or rice are good, too."

Don's comments: Pörkölt is probably the most stereotypical of Hungarian dishes and is often called goulash in English. Essentially it is a thick meat stuff season with Hungarian paprika. The recipe linked above makes way too much food for me, so essentially I am cutting it in half here. This will be my template for experiments with it.

Ingredients

• 3 slices of bacon, diced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/8 cup of Hungarian paprika
• 3/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp of ground black pepper
• 2.5 pounds of boneless pork chops
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 1/3 cup of beef broth
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 6-oz package of wide egg noodles

Method

1. Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain, and reserve the drippings. Add the onions to the bacon and cook together until the onion is translucent. Remove skillet from heat and stir the paprika, garlic powder, and pepper into the bacon mixture. Transfer the mixture into a large stockpot.
2. Heat a small amount of the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet again over medium-high heat. Cook the pork chops in batches in the hot drippings until evenly browned on both sides. Use additional bacon drippings for each batch as needed. Remove the pork chops to a cutting board and blot excess fat off the surface of the chops with a paper towel; cut into bite-sized cubes and stir into the bacon mixture.
3. Heat a small amount of the bacon drippings in the skillet; cook and stir the bell pepper in the hot drippings until softened and fragrant; drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Stir the cooked pepper into the bacon mixture.
4. Pour the tomatoes with liquid and beef broth into a stockpot and place the pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the stew begins to thicken, stirring occasionally, about 90 minutes. Stir the sour cream into the stew just before serving.
5. Bring a pot with lightly-salted water and bring to a rolling boil; add the egg noodles to the water and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink. Ladle the stew over the drained noodles to serve.

---

2016-02-27: This is my first attempt at the recipe. I ended up using two onions and five strips of bacon out of brainlessness. I used pepper bacon, so I didn't add pepper to the stew. It took for-freakin-ever to brown the meat; I'm skeptical it is worth the effort in a stew. By the time all was said and done, it was too late to really cook the stew, so I put the stewing pan in the fridge and I'll start it stewing tomorrow.

I purchased this garam masala and tried it in a cabbage dish. Too much sweet spice, either anise or star anise. Skip it in the future.

Servings 8
Yield 8 Tablespoons

Ingredients

• 5 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 5 teaspoons ground cumin
• 5 teaspoons ground coriander
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons allspice
• 2 1⁄2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 1⁄4 teaspoons cinnamon

Method

Mix spices together and store in an airtight container.

Ingredients

• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 red peppers, sliced
• Oil for frying
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 chicken breasts, i.e., two full chicken breats
• a clove of garlic, minced
• 1 10-oz can of red enchilada sauce
• 4 oz cream cheese
• 8 oz of cheddar cheese, shredded

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Put onions and peppers in frying pan with a bit of oil. Add a bit of salt and pepper and start softening them over medium heat.
3. If the chicken breasts aren't all that big, then flatten them in plastic so that it doesn't spatter. You can flatten them by whacking them with a manly cast-iron frying pan or using the womanly approaching with a rolling pin or a meat tenderizer (mallet). If the chicken breasts are thick, slice them in half again flatwise before pounding. Fry them in oil till they are mostly cooked through. As the chicken gets cooked, transfer to a plate for storage.
4. Throw in the garlic, enchilada sauce, cream cheese and half of the cheddar.
5. Once all the cheese is melted, briefly dip each piece of chicken in the sauce and then transfer the chicken to casserole dish. Add the onions and peppers to cover the chicken.
6. Put sauce on top.
7. Top with remaining cheddar cheese.
8. Put in oven for 15-20 minutes till the cheese starts getting brown and delicious on top.

Results

Tasty. Definitely a repeater.

---

2015-10-24: Variation. I had a bunch of left over pork tenderloin in the freezer that I wanted to use. Instead of red enchilada sauce, I had about 10 oz of left overs of a can of green Macayo's enchilada sauce. So I sauteed the onions and peppers. Mixed the sauce and cream cheese and half the cheddar. Put enough of that on the bottom of the casserole dish to cover it. Added the pork. Covered it with the onions and peppers. Added the remaining half of the cheddar. Popped it in the oven.

This turned out adequately. The pork doesn't combine as well with enchilada sauce as chicken does. Not bad, but no need to repeat.

---

2015-11-12: I did a beef variation using 2 pounds of hamburger and a 28 oz can of of Las Palmas enchilada sauce. 1/2 tsp black pepper.

This was entirely adequate. I would repeat it for myself, and repeat it for non-picky family.

This made more than my large casserole pan could handle, so I had to also use another half size casserole dish. Next time I would use 1 lb of hamburger and 14 oz of enchilada sauce.

---

I should try a variation with La Victoria enchilada sauce and Monterey Jack cheese.

Ingredients

1 (7 ounce) can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
4 tablespoons sour cream
5 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 cups (minus 4 tablespoons) sour cream
9 ounces baby spinach, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp powdered caldo con sabor de pollo (chicken broth granules)

Adjusted method this time

1. Combine chopped chile peppers with 4 tablespoons sour cream. Mix together and spread mixture over chicken breasts. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
2. Place marinated chicken in an ungreased 9x13 inch baking dish and broil for about 8 minutes (rack should be about 6 inches from the top.) Pour remaining cup sour cream around edges of chicken and turn over chicken breasts. Broil for an additional 8 minutes.
3. Check meat. If not done, give another 15 minutes at 350°. Sour cream should be lightly brown on the edges. Move breasts into a separate dish and cover to keep warm. Set aside.
4. Pour leftover broiled sour cream into a medium saucepan over high heat. Add spinach, broth and salt to taste. Boil for about 1 minute until all melted and mixed together. Pour mixture over chicken breasts and serve.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chipotle-chicken/

Comments

As written, the recipe is tolerable. Broiling time seems unrealistic in the original, and also in my 8-minute version. One has to add more cooking time, which leaves the meat kind of tough.

I think this would be better as a crockpot recipe recipe with the chicken cooking all day long till it falls apart, then adding the sour cream and chipotle.

This is a recipe from "Special Mexican Dishes: easy and simple to prepare."

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork loin
• 24 dry red chiles
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup of water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp oregano

I'm always confused about what chiles to buy; there are so many. This time I was shopping at Food City and bought New Mexico chile entero from the bins.

Cut pork loin into thin strips 5 to 6 inches long and about 2 inches wide and about 3/8" thick. Place in a deep dish and set aside. Wash and clean the dry peppers, leaving a few seeds for spicy flavor. Place the clean chile peppers in a large pot and add enough hot water to cover all the chiles. Cover the pot and soak the chiles for 30 minutes. Save 2/3 cup of water to make chile pulp. Place following ingredients in a blender: drained chiles, garlic cloves, salt, water and vinegar. Blend mixture to form a pulp. Add oregano to the pulp and mix. Add this pulp mixture to the meat, soaking all the strips. Marinate overnight. Roast in preheated oven at 275°. Roast 35 minutes or until well done.

Final result? Well, I gotta say that although this stuff is edible, it doesn't make me want to make it again.