Hungarian Spaetzle - Little Dumplings

Just the sound of Hungarian Spaetzle makes me smile with fond memories of my grandmother Julia Nagy! From her I learned that the key ingredient to Chicken and Veal Paprikas is the Hungarian Spaetzle or little dumplings!

I can remember watching grandma prepare the batter for her little dumplings aka Hungarian Spaetzle, in that tiny little kitchen in her brick bungalow in Northeastern Ohio. My grandma Julia Nagy was quite the cook, preparing traditional Hungarian recipes which became the comfort food that we celebrate today.

I continue to have fond flashbacks of my time spent in that quaint bungalow kitchen in Cleveland, Ohio, by grandma Julia Nagy's side. I am eternally grateful for the memories of little dumplings, and other Hungarian foods, which have been a big part of my life.

Gosh, I hope you too had a grandma that inspired you! I hope your grandma shared the family's recipes with you and taught you how to cook. Thank goodness for grandmothers!

Hungarian Spaetzle was the KEY ingredient in grandma's authentically delicious Chicken and Veal Paprikas. There, the secret is out! The best-ever, most delicious recipe for Hungarian Spaetzle, little dumplings, is easy to make.

Welcome my little dumpling(s)! Isn't it time to have a little Hungarian Spaetzle? Well, you have come to the right place for authentically Hungarian ... Spaetzle aka little dumplings! A key ingredient to Chicken and Veal Paprikas is the Hungarian Spaetzle or little dumplings!

Photo credit of obviously delicious Spaetzle taken by Kobako. Size matters! 

Do you dig little dumplings?

Are you a Hungarian Spaetzle Lover? - After all, size DOES matter when we are talking dumplings! So, do you LOVE little dumplings aka Hungarian Spaetzle?

1. Ich liebe spaetzle.
2. En szerelem spaetzle.
3. I love spaetzle.
4. Ich liebe spaetzle nicht.
5. Give me BIG dumplings you all.

My Confession : I Sincerely Love Hungarian Spaetzle
Ah, normally I like to think big, but it is little dumplings for me!

hungarian spaetzle little dumplings brand ambassador jaguarjulie

"Thank you to my grandma Julia Nagy for instilling in me, a deep appreciation and love for Hungarian Spaetzle. And, for showing me that size does mattter when talking about dumplings; i.e., little dumplings!"

You know, just talking about Hungarian Spaetzle and my grandma Julia Nagy makes me feel like I can smell the aroma of her traditional Hungarian Chicken Paprikash or Veal Paprikash cooking. I honestly am envisioning that kitchen in her Cleveland, Ohio bungalow located at 16605 Chatfield Avenue.

Grandma would prepare the batter for her Hungarian Spaetzle right before the Paprikash was ready to serve. There is nothing better than fresh Hungarian Spaetzle mixed into a the Paprikash. Sometimes grandma would make one of her many homemade soups. Yep, the spaetzle went into the soup too! It was all good. --The Brand Ambassador for Hungarian Spaetzle, JaguarJulie!

P.S. I was the Official Squidoo Comfort Foods Contributor! Did you know that? Well, you probably guessed it. Growing up and having my grandma prepare those little dumplings was so comforting. Hungarian Spaetzle is another of my favorite comfort food recipes! Thanks grandma.

First of All:
Hungarian Spaetzle is Little Dumplings
Little would be the operative word!

Hungarian Spaetzle should look like these!
For these are LITTLE dumplings! - Dumplings should be little; i.e. smaller than a teaspoon size! 

Ah, so the Hungarian dumplings that I remember and love from my childhood while sitting in my grandma Julia Nagy's kitchen in Cleveland, Ohio -- those are LITTLE DUMPLINGS more easily referred to as Hungarian Spaetzle. Spaetzle you see definitely indicates that you want "little" dumplings. This is a very good picture of what a plate of Hungarian "little dumplings" or Spaetzle should look like.

These Hungarian Spaetzle are incredibly easy to make. And, the little dumplings taste fabulous in Chicken and Veal Paprikas. Oh, and you can serve them in your Hungarian Goulash too. In fact, there are plenty of applications er dishes that would taste delicious with Hungarian Spaetzle.

You know, I'm even thinking that my recipe for beef stroganoff would benefit from using Hungarian Spaetzle instead of plain butter noodles! Why don't you try it some time. Oh, and I've included a simple and easy to prepare recipe for Hungarian Spaetzle below!

Hungarian Spaetzle should NOT look like these
For these are BIG Dumplings! - Pay attention please, as this is VERY important.

See this picture? Hungarian Spaetzle, as little dumplings go, should never look like this! You see this is a picture of my dinner plate when we vacationed in The Czech Republic, in Prague. It was our first dinner in the Eastern European city. We had opted to eat at the restaurant that advertised Hungarian Goulash with Dumplings. When this plate arrived, I looked at my hubby and exclaimed, "What the heck is this? Those aren't DUMPLINGS!"

You see size does matter. This was not the last time that I ordered DUMPLINGS while we toured The Czech Republic. Yep, ordering DUMPLINGS off the menu produced the same results as what you see on this plate. Well, at least they were consistent. For a third time, I asked if I could get Hungarian DUMPLINGS for dinner at the hostel we stayed at in the countryside. We did a lot of 'charades' back and forth to communicate what I had in mind. The chef told me it took her a day to prepare them. Well, although I thought that seemed odd as they are easy and simple to make, I nodded my head and said we'd see her the next night.

As hubby and I took our seat, that next night, my tastebuds were already in overdrive. It wasn't too long before dinner was served. OMG, "Those aren't dumplings!" Yep, you guessed it! For the third time, I got the type of BREAD "dumplings" as shown on this plate.

When we got home from our vacation, I relayed the story to mom. Ah, she laughed, "Next time, ask for SPAETZLE!"

You know, it never seems to escape me that I had such a time in Eastern Europe trying to get a taste of Grandma's little dumplings! It is kind of funny to still think about how I got something that kind of looked like a potato pancake. Not little dumplings. Who knew? SPAETZLE!

Hungarian Spaetzle -- Little Dumplings
aka galuska or nokedli

An Easy, Best-Ever Recipe for Hungarian Spaetzle
From the Hungarian recipe archives of my Grandma Julia Nagy!

Ingredients
2 -1/2 cups of flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Instructions

1. Add flour, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl.
2. Next, add water, eggs, and melted butter.
3. Mix ingredients together until lumps are gone and it is like a batter.
4. Prepare a pot of water with salt to bring to a boil.
5. Spoon a portion of the batter onto a flat plate.
6. With a spoon, beginning cutting about a spoonful of batter at a time from the edge of the plate into the boiling water. Because of the small size of the spaetzle, they will rise fairly quickly to the surface. Spaetzle will only need a few minutes to cook in the boiling water once they have risen.
7. Remove the cooked spaetzle to a colander to drain.

A Helping Hand!
Get a spaetzle maker to help you make your first batch of little dumplings. Once you become the pro, you can make them like my grandma made them!

• Norpro Spaetzle Maker
• Norpro Stainless Steel Spaetzle Maker
• Kuchenprofi Spaetzle Lid and Scraper in 18/10 Stainless Steel

Hungarian Spaetzle Case Study
When I originally wrote this article, it was actually a lens. I also prepared an accompanying case study which analyzed the success of this article online. I looked at SEO efforts along with social media interaction and traffic over the early life of this page!

Thanks for Visiting!
My grandmother made the best "Hungarian" Spaetzle; however, she called it dumplings. The word dumplings can mean a lot of different things. I'm glad I figured out that I want little dumplings or Spaetzle. How about you? Do you love it? Can you make it? Is it one of your favorite comfort foods like it is for me?

History: Hungarian Spaetzle : Little Dumplings was originally created on Squidoo by JaguarJulie on August 28, 2009. On January 25, 2011 this lens earned the Squidoo Purple Star Award for quality content.

Size matters when talking about dumplings

Oh yes indeed, size does matter ladies and gentlemen when you are talking about dumplings. For me, the operative word would be SMALL. Oh, that is OK -- not to worry as small CAN be good and delicious. Especially, now that we are talking about little dumplings aka what I call Hungarian Spaetzle.

Growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, we were privileged to learn from a master chef of Hungarian and Slavic cooking. It was our grandmother Julia Nagy who made not only the best Hungarian Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, but she also was a master at whipping up the most tasty Chicken Paprikas and Veal Paprikas.

I can remember sitting in the kitchen with grandma as she mixed up a seemingly easy to prepare recipe for spaetzle aka Hungarian Spaetzle aka little dumplings. She was very proficient at the way she would put the batter on a flat plate and then start cutting the batter from the edges of the plate into the boiling salted water. How something of such a simple recipe could always taste so great! One of life's great mysteries I think.

Grandma's Chicken and Veal Paprikas had such a yummy taste, only improved upon by the little dumplings. I think it was also the sour cream that she used in her recipe that provided that recognizable taste that I can imagine in my mind. This is a really great picture to demonstrate WHAT little dumplings aka spaetzle should look like! Photo Credit: Spaetzle taken by Kobako.

Now ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the BIG dumplings! This is a pretty funny story that demonstrates a miscommunication or culture difference. These are, yes, BIG. They are commonly thought of as simply dumplings -- they are the bread dumplings.

Let me tell you that I knew NOTHING about big dumplings when we vacationed in Eastern Europe, The Czech Republic. We arrived in Prague and headed out for dinner. Oh boy, I thought, that sign says Hungarian Goulash with Dumplings. Ah, my mouth and taste buds were at attention. We sat down and the plate arrived. "What the heck is that?" I asked. Oh, those would be dumplings!

Nay nay nay! Those are not the dumplings of my youth. Those are not the dumplings that grandma Julia Nagy whipped up in her Cleveland kitchen. So, arriving home, I emailed mom a copy of this picture. Mom laughed and said to next time ask for Spaetzle if I wanted little dumplings! Thank you mom! We should have brought you along on vacation.