Growing up my sister and I would love when our Nana visited and would cook some Hungarian food for us. Whenever she did it would include the most delicious Nokedli. These Hungarian dumplings are the perfect vehicle for any of the savory sauces that would be part of the meal. If you make them small enough they are great for soups, too. I was amazed watching my grandmother make these dumplings. She would cut the dough right off of a board directly into a pot of boiling water. Once they were cooked she sauteed them in a hot pan with butter to make them a little crispy. My sister and I would taste so many that I am pretty sure half of the batch would disappear by dinner time. Now I make these for my husband and sons. They seem just as fascinated by the process as I was so many years ago.
Ingredients for Hungarian Dumplings - Nokedli:
*8 - 10 servings
6 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 eggs
cold water
4 tablespoons butter
* This is a big recipe and be easily halved. I make a lot because my sons devour the dumplings.
Time-Saving Tip: If you must this recipe can be made earlier in the day and reheated in the microwave.
Let's see what we need.
We are ready to make some Nokedli.
Combine the flour and salt together in a big bowl. Normally, you make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and start working the ingredients together. Since this is a large recipe I decided to beat the eggs in a separate bowl.
Add the eggs and about a cup of cold water to the flour mixture. Start mixing, if necessary add a little more cold water. There should be just enough water added to keep the dough together, no more. This is a sturdy dough. Keep mixing as much as you can until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl. Let the dough rest for about 45 minutes to an hour.
While the dough is resting set up a large pot of water on the stove, a large pan on the stove and pull out the board and a butter knife. This will be the work station for making the dumplings.
Once the dough has rested bring the pot of water to a fast boil. Wet the board and add a portion of the dough on the board. I usually just stick the butter knife into the pot of water, scoop out a little water and wipe it on the board.
Okay, here we go...
There is more to watch...
The nokedli gets sauteed in some butter.....
After the nokedli is sauteed in the butter transfer it to a large glass pan or dish. I like to put it in a large glass dish so the hot dumplings don't steam away some of the nice crust from sauteing. look house delicious they look!
They're ready! Delicious. Delicious. Delicious. Of course these dumplings are great with all things Hungarian but they are also great with any stew, pot roast or brisket.
The nokedli is perfect with Hungarian Beef Paprika Stew - Marha Pörkölt. Click HERE for the recipe.
Enjoy!