A delicious dish with many names..

People call it Gulasch, Goulash, Gulyas, Gollasch or Gujasch, but in Hungary it's Pörkölt, which basically means 'roasted'.

Its origins go all the way back to the Middle Ages, where Hungarian shepherds would cook it over open fire. Back then, paprika was not available and Pörkölt was just a simple soup with roasted meat and onions.

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Today, Pörkölt is a stew that's cooked in many different ways and a great variety of ingredients. Beef, pork and deer are the favorites of my family, but veal, horse and lamb are very popular as well. For poor students like Jamie and I, turkey and chicken can be great options too!

Common additional ingredients are garlic, potatoes, black bread, red wine, mushrooms, bell peppers or even sauerkraut, for example. In my opinion, the most important ingredients by far are onions, paprika and caraway. The more of them you have in there, the better the Pörkölt! 

The following recipe is just a rough outline; I have no idea how much paprika, onions and other spices I actually put in mine, but it's definitely more than what is given here. Feel free to use it as a start and add whatever ingredients you like best!
 

Pörkölt

   2 lbs Goulash Meat

   2 Onions

   6 oz Tomato Paste

   4 ts Broth (powder)

   4 tbsp Paprika

   2 tbsp Chili Powder

   1 tbsp Pepper

   1 tbsp Marjoram

   2 ts Caraway (ground)

   Salt

   Lemon Juice

   Oil

Cut the onions into small pieces and the meat into bite-sized cubes. Put both into a large bowl, mix with a few drops of lemon juice, add some salt, cover and let it rest for about an hour in the refrigerator. 

Roast the meat and onion mix for about 10 minutes at a higher setting in a pan with some oil. It's better to fry smaller portions at a time to make sure all of the pieces are nice and brown. After that, continue to roast for about 15 minutes at a medium-low temperature.

Pour in 3-4 cups of water (or whatever amount is needed to cover the meat) and add caraway and broth. At a medium-low setting, let it simmer until most of the water has evaporated; stir occasionally.

Add 3-4 more cups of water, tomato paste, paprika, chili powder, marjoram and pepper and stir. Simmer at low heat and stir occasionally until the meat is tender and you have reached your desired consistency.

Noodles, rice, dumplings, baked potatoes, polenta or just fresh bread are great choices for sides.  

  Enjoy!