Hogyan mondják, hogy “tojásos nokedli” angolul?

Tojásos nokedli aka Hungarian Egg Dumplings/Noodles

Tojásos nokedli is one of Hungary’s best-loved everyday comfort food dishes. It starts with nokedli, small soft dumplings similar to German spätzle, made from a simple batter of flour, eggs, water and salt.

The batter is pressed through a nokedli grater, a flat perforated board with a sliding hopper, straight into boiling water. The cooked dumplings are then tossed in a hot pan with lard or butter, and beaten eggs are poured over them and stirred until just set, so every dumpling is coated in soft, fluffy scrambled eggs.

It’s a humble, inexpensive meal that many Hungarians associate with childhood and weeknight dinners at home. It’s traditionally served with a crisp green lettuce salad with a light, slightly sweet vinegar dressing, whose sharpness balances the richness of the eggs. It’s also a popular way to use up leftover nokedli from paprikás csirke.

How to prepare it: 

Serves 4
Takes about 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 400 g all-purpose flour
• 3 eggs for the dumpling batter
• 250 ml cold water
• 1 tsp salt for the batter
• 1 tbsp salt for the cooking water
• 2 tbsp lard or butter
• 6 eggs for scrambling
• ½ tsp salt for the eggs
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped (optional)

Method:

1. Make the batter. In a bowl, mix the flour with the salt. Add the eggs and gradually beat in the cold water with a wooden spoon until you get a thick, smooth, slightly sticky batter that slowly drops from the spoon. Let it rest while the water heats.
2. Boil the water. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add the salt.
3. Cook the dumplings. Set the nokedli grater over the pot, fill the hopper with batter and slide it back and forth so small drops fall into the water. (No grater? Spread the batter on a wet cutting board and scrape thin strips into the water with a knife.) Cook until the dumplings float to the surface, then about 1 more minute.
4. Lift the dumplings out with a slotted spoon into a colander and rinse them briefly with hot water so they don’t stick. Repeat with the remaining batter.
5. Fry in fat. Melt the lard or butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the drained nokedli and toss for a few minutes until heated through.
6. Add the eggs. Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper. Pour them over the dumplings and stir gently until the eggs are just set but still soft and moist.
7. Sprinkle with chives if using, and serve immediately with the green salad.

Tips:

• Don’t overcook the eggs; they should stay creamy.
• The key to good nokedli is the batter consistency: if it runs through the grater too fast, add a little more flour; if it’s too stiff to push through, add a splash of water.
• For extra richness, some families add a splash of sour cream to the beaten eggs.