Bograch
Bograch is the Transcarpathian cousin of Hungarian goulash, and it stands on paprika. Paprika has one trap: in hot fat it burns within seconds and turns irreversibly bitter. So the pot comes off the heat, the paprika goes into warm fat, and only then does the water follow.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 2 h
- Rest
- 15 min
- Total
- 2 h 40 min
- Servings
- 6
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 430 kcal
Ingredients
The base
Vegetables
Csipetke
Makes: about 3 l, 6 bowls
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Render the fat
Render the diced pork fat in the pot over medium heat to golden cracklings, 7–8 minutes. That fat is where bograch gets its flavour; oil gives something else entirely.
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Step 2: Brown the meat
Sear the beef in batches over high heat to a dark crust, 4–5 minutes each. Lift each batch out — crowded, the meat steams instead of browning.
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Step 3: Soften the onion
Lower the heat and cook the onions for 10 minutes until soft and translucent. There is a lot of onion here, and it should almost melt into the sauce.
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Step 4: Paprika off the heat
Take the pot off the flame, wait half a minute and stir in the paprika, caraway and garlic. In sizzling fat paprika burns in seconds and stays bitter.
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Step 5: Braise the meat
Return the beef, add a cup of hot water, cover and braise gently for 1.5 hours, topping up the water. The meat should give way under a fork.
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Step 6: Add the vegetables
Pour in the rest of the water, add the carrot, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes, salt it and simmer 20 minutes until the potato is tender.
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Step 7: Make the csipetke
Work the flour, egg and salt into a stiff dough, roll it thin and pinch off uneven pieces — csipetke literally means "pinched".
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Step 8: Finish
Drop the dough into the simmering soup and cook 5 minutes, until the pieces float. Off the heat, rest it covered for 15 minutes.
Tips & variations
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Tip
The paprika must be fresh: old paprika has lost its aroma and gives only colour. Keep it in the dark — on a sunny shelf it fades in months.
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Tip
Bograch belongs in a cauldron over a fire; at home a heavy cast-iron pot is closest. In a thin pan the meat never builds the crust the flavour starts from.
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Variation
Transcarpathians often add beans (200 g, soaked overnight) with the potatoes, and in some villages a smoked rib for depth.
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Storage
Three days in the fridge, better on day two. The dough pieces swell overnight — cook them separately if you plan to keep it.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 6 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 430 kcal | 2,580 kcal |
| Protein | 28 g | 168 g |
| Fat | 22 g | 132 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30 g | 180 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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