Eureka paprika!

Dear readers, before I begin, please excuse my hiatus of about a year. We had some household changes that meant I have been very busy and have not had much time to write, let alone cook, extensively. I hope, therefore, you will forgive me, and support me in resuming a normal service. Now, on to the new post!


Although I have been quite an adventurous cook for many years and am in no way averse to using herbs and spices to achieve bags of flavour, I admit that paprika is a relatively new addition to my repertoire.

I began to use it when I decided to make enchiladas. Having had them only once before, when my friend cooked them for me from a kit, I trotted along to the supermarket to buy said ready-made components. As is frequently the case, however, I baulked at the price and worked out it would be much cheaper to make the sauce and filling myself. I noted the recipe lists and went home to experiment. I couldn’t say how authentic the spicing is meant to be in the kits, but paprika seemed to play an important part, so I added plenty and that was it, I was hooked. The mild paprika I used, made from bell peppers, imparted a delicious smoky savoury flavour that lent a comfort-food quality to the dish. I decided to test out my new best friend a bit further.

Mild paprika is a staple spice in our cupboard because it’s useful to add to general seasoning for things like meatballs and burgers, and to add colour to curries. On the whole, though, it’s just the odd teaspoon thrown in here and there. Finding ideas for increasing its prominence was not difficult, as it is a major player in Hungarian cuisine and thousands of recipes are available. After some experimentation (a theme of this post, it seems) I came up with the two chicken recipes posted below, one baked and one done on the hob. As for the enchiladas, despite them being my muse for these dishes, I’ll cover them another time.

The first recipe, the baked chicken paprika dish, could hardly be easier. In Hungarian chicken paprika sour cream would be more traditional, but in this recipe I suggest plain yoghurt. I like the tang it gives and it’s a good alternative for cooks wishing to cut the calories. If you fancy making a bit richer, sour cream will work perfectly well. I like to serve it with my version of lemon rice. I realise that is really a south Indian speciality, but it’s a great match. Look at me, fusion cooking!

The second recipe was made up pretty much on the spot because I felt as though we had been getting into a bit of a same-old, same-old routine. I found a recipe for a lovely sounding dish that is basically chicken, lots of caramelised red onions and lemon but, while some people feel that simplicity at this level is bliss, I did not think it would not carry enough taste weight for the delectable Mr M. Thus I took caramelised onions idea as a base, looked in the cupboard and created a new monster. To my delight, it went down a storm (not guaranteed when I “create”). Although the paprika counters the sweetness of the onions, peppers and carrots, I served it up with mushroom rice to add a bit of umami balance. Just plain brown rice would be just as good, though.

Well, I hope you're inspired. Ah, it's good to be back.

Yoghurt paprika chicken with lemon rice

Serves 4

For the paprika chicken

Four chicken breasts

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp plain flour

50 g butter or margarine

200 g mushrooms sliced

1 large pepper sliced

500 g plain low-fat yoghurt

Juice of a lemon

For the lemon rice

Enough basmati rice for 4 people

Half tsp white mustard seeds

Large pinch fenugreek seeds

2 tsp red lentils

1–2 fresh green chilli chopped or slit long-ways

1 inch fresh root ginger, finely chopped

Half tsp ground turmeric

4 tbsp cashew nuts very roughly chopped

10 curry leaves (optional)

Salt, to taste

Juice of 1 lemon

Heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas. Fry the chicken in a hot pan until golden brown on the outside but not cooked through. Place in a large casserole dish. Lightly fry the mushrooms and peppers just enough to begin softening and add to the casserole dish. Melt the butter or margarine in the pan then add the flour and paprika and combine thoroughly with the butter to make a roux base. Cook for 1 min and gently stir in the lemon juice and yoghurt until the roux is dissolved. Pour over the chicken and vegetables, cover the dish and put in the oven at for 40 minutes.

Cook the basmati rice, drain and set aside to cool. Warm some oil in a saucepan or frying pan. Over a medium heat cook the nuts for 2 min, making sure they don’t burn. Remove the nuts then add the mustard seeds, fenugreek and lentils to the oil and cook for 2 min until the mustard seeds start making a popping noise. Add the chilli, ginger, curry leaves and turmeric and cook for 1 min. Pour in the lemon juice; beware that it might spit at this stage. Return the cashew nuts and add the rice to the pan and stir thoroughly to mix the ingredients well. Serve when the rice is warmed through.

Paprika chicken with mushroom rice

Serves 4

For the paprika chicken

1 tbsp olive oil and 25 g butter (butter is optional)

1 large or 2 medium red onions julienned

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

2 tsp dark brown sugar

2 tbsp paprika

300 mL chicken stock

2 tbsp lemon juice

400-450 g chicken breast cut into strips

1 red pepper julienned

1 large carrot julienned

Chilli powder or finely chopped fresh chillies to taste (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

For the mushroom rice

200-250 g brown wholegrain rice

200-300 g mushrooms roughly chopped

100 g frozen peas

2 tsp mushroom ketchup (optional)

First, put the rice in a large saucepan and salt well. Add boiling water to about three times the volume of the rice, bring back to the boil then turn down the heat. Cover and simmer for 30–40 min.

In a large frying pan on a medium heat, heat the olive oil (and melt the butter if using) and add the onions and garlic. Stir until all slices of onion are well coated and continue to cook on a medium heat for about 10 min, stirring occasionally, until the onion is thoroughly softened and have started to caramelise (brown). Do not let the onions burn. Add the brown sugar, paprika and chilli powder or chillies (if using) and cook for 1-2 min, stirring continuously. Turn up the heat and add the chicken to the pan to brown. Once the chicken is all browned, add the stock and lemon juice, turn the heat down and leave to simmer for 8-10 min to reduce the liquid a little. Meanwhile, fry the mushrooms in separate frying pan on quite a high heat until well coloured, then set aside.

About 5 min before the rice is ready (set a timer or bite a grain of rice to check), taste the paprika sauce and season to taste. Add the red pepper and carrot and stir to ensure they are distributed evenly around the pan. Add the peas to the rice and cook for 2 min more. Boil plenty of water in a kettle, drain the rice and rinse. Return the rice to the pan, add the cooked mushrooms and mushroom ketchup, if using, and stir through. Check the flavour of the paprika sauce and adjust seasoning if required. Serve immediately.

Note: When cooking rice by this method, the water will not all be absorbed before the rice is cooked. This is quite helpful for brown rice, which forms a scum on the top of the water while cooking. Alternatively, follow the instructions on the rice packaging.