Goulash

Goulash, originally from Hungary, is a stew or a soup, usually made with beef, red onions, vegetables, spices and ground paprika powder. The name originates from the Hungarian gulyás (pronounced goo-yash), and means cattle stockman or herdsman.

Goulash is usually made with beef shank, shin or shoulder or veal and derives its thickness from tough, well-exercised muscles rich in collagen, which is converted to gelatin during the cooking process.

Meat is cut into chunks, seasoned with salt, and black pepper and then browned in a pot with oil or lard with sliced onions. Paprika, water or stock is added and left to simmer. After cooking a while garlic, caraway seeds or ground caraway seeds and even soup vegetables like carrot, parsnip, peppers like green pepper (or bell pepper), celery and a small tomato may be added. Other herbs and spices could also be added, especially hot chili peppers, bay leaf and thyme. Diced potatoes may be added, they provide starch as they cook, making the goulash thicker and smoother. A small amount of white wine or a very little wine vinegar can also be added near the end of cooking to round the taste.

Goulash may be served with thin soup pasta, made of a dough with flour and egg, thinly rolled out on a board. called csipetke. The name Csipetke comes from pinching small fingernail size bits out of the dough, (csip =pinch), adding them to the boiling soup.

More about Hungarian Goulash here.

There are may ways to prepare and eat goulash.

Our version is simple and uses local ingredients – in Malaysia we used to buy beef bones at the wet market. In Kuwait we use chuck steak. We also use a pressure cooker to cook the dish in under an hour.

We like to eat it with Fusilli pasta or a nice bread.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 3 – 4

400 gms chuck steak

1/2 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1/2 green pepper

1/2 can peeled or stewed tomatoes

4 – 5 guindilla (Spanish dried chillies)

1 small potato, cubed (optional)

1 1/2 tbsp paprika powder

1/2 tsp marjoram

1 – 2 tbsp sour cream (optional)

1 Maggi beef cube

1/2 litre water

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Cut the steak into chunks of approximately 3cm by 3 cm. Chopped the onions, mince the garlic and cube the green peppers. Puree the canned tomatoes.

Heat olive oil in the pressure cooker and fry the beef until medium brown. Remove. Add a little more oil if necessary and when hot, saute the onions and garlic until they are translucent. Add the green peppers and stir fry for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the meat, pureed tomato, paprika powder, beef cube and water. Crush the dried chillies using your fingers and add them to the pot . Add salt to taste and pressure cook on medium heat for approximately 25 minutes. Check it make sure it doesn’t burn in the pressure cooker.

Add the cubed potatoes, if using them, and the marjoram. Let it simmer slowly until the meat and potatoes are tender. Alternatively, you can boil the potatoes separately and add them to the goulash when the beef is tender.

Fifteen minutes before serving, reheat the goulash and add the sour cream if using it. Just let it boil through and remove from heat.

Serve hot with pasta or bread.