Chicken Paprika

I had forgotten about this dish. I grew up eating it. My Mom would make it with green peppers and served it over white rice.

While she was a young girl, she stayed with her brother and sister-in-law in the UK. She learnt a lot of local cooking and one of the dishes my aunt used to make was chicken paprika.

Even after moving to the US, my Mom made this particular chicken dish quite often. I am usually not a big rice eater, but love white rice with this particular dish. As some of you know I am big into healthy eating and brown rice is part of the repertoire- but with this meal white rice tastes the best.

The dish itself is very easy to make. The gravy consists of onion and garlic and the main ingredient is sweet paprika. A pinch of cinnamon brings out the sweetness in the chicken and the peppers. As I mentioned before, my Mom would use green peppers but decided to use one green and one red. It makes a delicious and colorful dish.

My daughter was very curious while I was cooking it. She was a bit put off by the peppers- she doesn’t like them. I told her I would give her the chicken with the rice and one or two pieces of peppers. She loved the chicken and tolerated the peppers. Overall she enjoyed and so did my husband- he thought it was delicious.

Next time you are wondering what to do with the chicken in the fridge- try Chicken Paprika.

• 1 pound chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
• Salt
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 1 (14 oz) tomato sauce can
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ red pepper, cut into small strips
• ½ green pepper, cut into small strips

Heat a large frying pan and add the olive oil. Add the chicken pieces in batches to brown on both side- about 2 minutes on each side. Sprinkle salt while the chicken is browning. Add the onion and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes till the onions or soft. Add the paprika, salt and cinnamon. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the tomato sauce and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer on a low heat covered for 15 minutes. Take the lid off and add the peppers. Cover for another 5 minutes and check for seasonings. Serve with plain rice.