The national cuisine in Hungary could not stand apart and not be influenced by the cooking of other countries. In the 15th century, the Italian bride of the king transformed the palace kitchen according to the traditions of her country. After the Turkish conquests, the recipes were supplemented with paprika, which became one of the main ingredients. Certain culinary secrets were borrowed from neighboring Romania. However, culinary specialists from Hungary managed to transform the dishes in such a way “in their own way” that it is almost impossible to recognize the prototypes in them.
Hungarian cuisine has certain specifics:
- the main assistant in creating dishes is pork fat;
- the first courses are very filling and thick;
- the recipes contain a lot of meat, mainly pork, poultry, veal;
- spices, paprika and onions are used in large quantities;
- sour cream is served with all first and second courses;
- The main method of preparation is stewing.
Flour is distinguished by its maximum inclusion of gluten. This allows chefs to create unique desserts from the finest dough, as well as tarhonya. These dried granules in the form of cereals are used in soups, side dishes, and stuffing.
What is a must-try in Budapest?
You can go to a restaurant of Hungarian cuisine, or try the delicacies of this cuisine in Moscow or another city. But if you get the opportunity, go to Hungary to fully appreciate all its advantages. 
Local cuisine includes a huge number of dishes. Among them there are the most popular ones, which clearly reflect the features of this cooking. In restaurants and cafes in Budapest, be sure to try:
- snacks - stuffed peppers, spring rolls, Debrecen sausages, goose liver pate;
- first - holasle soup, goulash;
- second - paprikash, lecho, perkelt, Transylvanian cabbage rolls, roast;
- desserts - kertosh, Hungarian cheesecake, strudel.
Be sure to try the Hungarian fast food - lángos. This is a flavorful, hearty deep-fried flatbread. Garlic sauce and sour cream are used for greasing; grated cheese is sprinkled on top.
In Hungary, it is customary to serve a certain drink with each meal. There are many of them, but you definitely need to try them in Budapest.
Recipes for popular Hungarian dishes
Not only visitors to Hungarian restaurants can try the delicacies of this cuisine. They can be a great addition to your homemade diet. The recipes are not very complicated; every housewife can handle them.
Hungarian goulash
In preparing goulash we use:
- veal or pork;
- vegetables - potatoes, tomatoes, carrots;
- paprika, spices;
- onion and garlic;
- homemade noodles or dumplings.
First, onions, carrots, and garlic are fried in pork fat for several minutes. Add diced meat. After 10-15 minutes, add paprika and pour in 250 ml of water. The mixture simmers for about half an hour; water needs to be added. Add diced potatoes and peeled chopped tomatoes. A few minutes before the potatoes are ready, dumplings or noodles, garlic, and spices are added to the goulash. Goulash soup is sprinkled with herbs. 
Perkelt
Any type of meat, fish, mushrooms, crabs can be used in cooking. The product is sliced and stewed with pork fat, plenty of onion and paprika. The dish is seasoned with red sauce.
Kertosh
Prepare sweet butter dough, roll it onto a wooden or metal stick, bake, sprinkle with cinnamon, chopped nuts, and pour over honey.
Local snacks themselves are quite filling and can replace the entire lunch. If you want to enjoy the taste of several courses and leave room for a second dish and soup, then order a couple of different appetizers at the rate of 1 serving for the whole company. Ask each guest for a clean plate and start tasting. Which Hungarian snacks should you pay attention to?
Toltott paprika - stuffed paprika. Large red peppers, skillfully stuffed with a delicate mixture of rice and minced meat and stewed in a thick tomato sauce;
Rantott libamajszeletek - fried goose liver. An amazing dish consisting of thin pieces of liver fried in a breading of flour and eggs that melt in your mouth and have an unsurpassed taste. The highlight of this recipe is that the liver is fried over moderate heat and it retains its juiciness and appetizing pale pink hue. As a rule, liver prepared in this way is offered in combination with boiled fluffy rice and ripe juicy tomatoes;
Palacsinta - pancakes. Hungarian cuisine is replete with pancakes of all kinds. They can be either stuffed or simply seasoned. Start with the traditional Hortobagui palacsinta, flavored with meat goulash, sour cream and paprika, and continue with Juhas palacsinta, stuffed with tender cottage cheese with the addition of fresh dill.
Main courses in Hungary
The basis of Hungarian second dishes is also meat (beef and pork), paprika, onions and lard. It would seem that almost the entire cuisine is based on goulash - liquid, thick or heavy, however, in fact, Hungarians know how to season the same types of meat, so skillfully using various herbs and additives that their taste is radically different and invariably excellent. The meat is prepared both in pieces and in the form of minced meat, from which the most tender dumplings or cutlets are obtained that melt in your mouth. Meat dishes are usually served with various salads and pickled vegetables: cucumbers, sauerkraut, onions and paprika. Some restaurants serve a salad mix for large groups; take advantage of this and try the whole kaleidoscope of vegetable flavors in Hungarian style. Pickled vegetables, along with meat and paprika, form the basis of the Hungarian main course menu. Which of the rich assortment of main dishes should you definitely try?
Porkolt - goulash. A truly Hungarian dish, it is finely chopped meat stewed in wine and tomato sauce, flavored with onion dressing and spices. Depending on the focus of the restaurant's cuisine, you may find several varieties of goulash on the menu. The most commonly offered beef goulash is Marha porkolt. It is followed by: pork - Sertes porkolt and lamb - Birka porkolt. There is a recipe for preparing this amazing dish for vegetarians - Gomba porkolt (mushroom goulash). Such a meat or mushroom dish is usually accompanied by dumplings or dumplings - Tarhonya;
Paprikas - paprikash. Another traditionally Hungarian national dish, which is fried meat flavored with fresh sour cream sauce and a generous layer of paprika. In me you can see two variations of this dish: Borju - veal paprikash and Csirke - chicken paprikash. Both of them are worthy of attention, although they differ radically in taste;
Lexo - lecho. Another legendary local dish, the love of many vegetarians. The main components of lecho: paprika, tomatoes and onions. The main secret of the recipe lies in long and moderate stewing of vegetables - until the liquid and natural juices have completely evaporated. Initially, lecho served as a side dish for goulash, but now it is served as an independent dish, delighting lovers of vegetable and light cuisine with its amazing taste;
Brassoi apropecsenye - roast pork. Many restaurants offer this dish, which is one of the leaders in ordering meat dishes. The roast includes fried juicy pieces of pork and potatoes, stewed in an onion-tomato mixture;
Budapest modra - meat in Budapest style. This dish is based on minced meat and consists of beef, veal or pork cutlets, fried with the addition of yellow cheese and mushrooms. Before mincing, the meat is marinated in tomato sauce and herbs, which gives the cutlets a refined taste and delicate aroma;
Csusza - baked pasta according to an unusual recipe for us. An independent dish that does not include meat, a favorite food of local vegetarians and pasta fans. Pasta is baked in a special container with the addition of milk and additional ingredients. Tourists are advised to choose the following types of baked pasta: Makoscsusca - with the addition of poppy seeds, Turoscsusza - with fresh cottage cheese, Dioscsusza - with crushed walnuts;
Gomboc - dumplings. A traditional national dish hiding dough balls or so-called dumplings, which can be either lean or with the addition of meat or even fruit filling. Depending on the recipe, dumplings can be served in restaurants as a side dish for meat dishes, as an independent dish, and even as a sweet treat.
Hungarian desserts
Locals love desserts, so, as a rule, every meal ends with some wonderful delicacy. A little more about some of them:
Vegyes Reres - roll. The most popular Hungarian dessert, which can be found in every restaurant, cafe or delicatessen. This is a confectionery product made from the most delicate French dough, filled with a sweet cheese filling with the addition of poppy seeds, ground nuts, cherries, apples and raisins. To some extent, the roll can be compared to the Viennese strudel, but the Hungarian version is even more magnificent;
Gundel palacsinta - sweet pancakes. The delicacy was invented by the famous Hungarian chef, and will forever go down in the history of the country’s national dessert cuisine. Thin lacy pancakes are generously filled with dried fruits and sour cream, and the delicacy is generously poured with hot chocolate and alcohol tincture on top. Traditionally, this dessert is served flaming. As you understand, this effect is created by alcohol flaming from above. However, these days, such a spectacular presentation is not available in all restaurants. However, Gundel palacsinta remains a favorite delicacy for both locals and visitors to the country;
Somboi galuska - mini sponge cakes. Dessert involves a fluffy fresh sponge cake, cut into miniature pieces, decorated with whipped cream and sprinkled with grated chocolate. People with a sweet tooth go crazy over the melting taste of this Hungarian delicacy.
Hungarian drinks
First of all, enjoy the real famous Tokaj wine. Its taste and aroma are unsurpassed, and its taste drives even capricious gourmets crazy. This is not at all surprising, since Budapest is the birthplace of Tokaji wine. In Hungary, this type of wine is present in the wine list or menu of any restaurant, bar or cafe. The strength of Tokayskoye does not exceed the standard limits and contains the traditional 16% alcohol.
Along with Tokaj wines, Hungary is also famous for other varieties: Sopron, Eger and Villany. If you want to not only try local wines, but also buy them for home consumption, choose restaurants at wine cellars or factories. There are a whole scattering of such establishments here. As a rule, here you can enjoy traditional Hungarian dishes, try many types of wines, and immediately buy the varieties you like - they will be brought to you from the cellar or poured from a barrel. Tourists do not leave the country without a couple of liters of their favorite wonderful grape drink.
The low-alcohol list of Hungarian drinks is represented by several types of beer produced by local factories. The following varieties deserve attention: “Soproni”, “Dreher”, “Bak”, “Kebanyai”, “Aranyasok”.
For stronger drinks, we can recommend fruit palinka or Unicum balm - a tincture containing the juice of 40 herbs and sold in colorful round black bottles with a bright red cross on the label. Another interesting strong drink is the Hubertus hunting liqueur, which has a sweet herbal flavor and a high degree of strength. The hardiest of Hungarian hunters mix it with beer to create a cocktail called the Magyar Ruff, but you shouldn't get so excited - it's better to try these drinks separately, savoring every drop of the amazing Hungarian elixirs.
There are no bad dishes in Hungary - you can try whatever you want. Of course, most of them are high in calories and fat, but they are environmentally friendly and incredibly tasty. And is it worth restraining yourself from culinary desires if the calories you eat quickly melt away while swimming in mineral springs and walking in picturesque surroundings?!
Goulash, paprikash, perkölt - dishes of Hungarian cuisine are also included in the list of attractions of Hungary, as are architectural monuments, natural beauty, national dances and folk crafts.
But the gastronomic traditions of this country suggest dishes richly flavored with fat and seasoned with flour, and this is not the most suitable food for a child.
Indeed, even adults will have to adapt to nourishing and high-calorie food. However, children will not go hungry while traveling around Hungary. We will tell you what the names of dishes mean in Hungarian and what food you can order for your child.
Features of culinary traditions
You need to get acquainted with the culinary traditions of Hungary sedately, without having any urgent matters ahead - once you are full, you will not want to think about excursions.
It is sometimes said that Hungarians eat meat with meat and bread with bread. Yes, main courses sometimes combine several types of meat, and season the sauce with flour to thicken it, not forgetting to supplement the food with dumplings or dumplings.
Fortunately, vegetables are also used liberally, including several types of aromatic Hungarian paprika. Vegetables are stewed together with meat, and marinades or pickles are used instead of salads. But the Hungarians do not honor vegetable oil; even butter is relegated to the background - pork fat is used for cooking.
But they don’t go overboard with spices here. Paprika and onion often play the main role; for meat dishes, cumin, bay leaf, and black pepper are used.
Hungarian cuisine: food as part of culture
In Hungary there is the concept of “Hungaricum”. He describes objects and phenomena characteristic only of this country. The list includes a Rubik's cube, Nadudvar ceramics, and a good dozen dishes and food products. What kind of Hungaricum can you order for lunch?
Gulyas- the main national dish of Hungary, a thick soup with pieces of beef, paprika and potatoes. Goulash was cooked by shepherds, placing huge cauldrons over the fire.
Many restaurants honor this tradition and prepare the dish in cauldrons, which are called bogrács in Hungarian. It is under the name “bograch” that goulash is served in Ukrainian.
Pörkölt- fried and then stewed meat with paprika and onions. For pörkölt, beef, pork, lamb, poultry, beef tripe, liver, and chicken gizzards are used.
Paprikas- meat stewed in sour cream, most often chicken or veal. Sometimes paprikash is made from fish.
Debreceni kolbász- smoked long sausages made from minced beef and pork with paprika. Debrecen sausages are rarely served as a separate dish, but are often added to goulash.
Tarhonya- a unique dish of Hungarian cuisine in the form of small flakes or balls of dough, a type of pasta originally from the times when the Hungarians roamed the steppe. Tarhonya is served with pörkölt and goulash: it helps not to leave a drop of tasty sauce on the plate.
Paprika- pepper, which is added to soups and meat dishes. Kalochay or Szeged paprika is especially prized. Sweet peppers are stuffed, hot peppers are used as seasoning.
Salads: a short warm-up
In Hungary, the appetizer table is not very rich: why linger over salad when you need to quickly start hot goulash? But still, salads from fresh vegetables are definitely on the menu.
Paprika, tomatoes, cucumbers, Savoy and white cabbage, lettuce, and parsley are used. But the dressing is special - rendered pork fat. The taste is very piquant, but if you don’t trust this innovation, ask to dress the salad with vegetable oil.
Hungarian soups: first and second in one plate
For a quick and satisfying meal, order one of the Hungarian soups.
- Gulyas leves- soup with paprika, lots of vegetables, beef and small dumplings (or tarhonya) will replace a full lunch.
- Jokai bableves- thick and rich bean soup, which includes pork knuckle and smoked sausage.
- Halasz leves, or halaszle- traditional Hungarian freshwater fish soup. You can try especially delicious fish soup on Lake Balaton, where it is prepared from freshly caught fish.
- Főzelek- the lightest of Hungarian soups. Puréed vegetables are seasoned with a sauce made from flour and sour cream, and a boiled egg, meatballs or croutons are added to the finished dish.
- Ujhazi- ordinary chicken broth, seasoned with vegetables and noodles.
Second courses: for the hungriest
It's not easy to draw the line here. Soups and meat dishes usually contain equal parts meat and vegetables, so the division will be conditional.
- Marha pörkölt- beef pörkölt, one of the most popular dishes in Hungary. It is customary to serve not porridge or potatoes with pörkölt, but tarhonya.
- Tokany- This is a variant of pörkölt, only the meat for it is cut into thin strips. Tokan is more common not in Hungary itself, but in Romanian Transylvania and the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine.
- Paprikas borju- tender veal paprikash.
- Paprikas csirke- chicken paprikash.
- Toltott paprika- stuffed paprika, a hearty and at the same time beautiful dish. There are no surprises here, except that the rice in the minced meat is sometimes replaced with tarragon.
- Töltött káposzta- stuffed cabbage, that is, simply cabbage rolls.
- Lexo- a dish typical of Hungarian cuisine. Can you guess what it contains? Of course, meat and paprika, and also onions and tomatoes. The meat in this dish is represented by smoked sausages, and in addition to sweet paprika, hot pepper is definitely added to the plate.
Meat-free dishes: does it happen? Imagine, meat-eating Hungarians sometimes eat dishes made from vegetables and pasta. The choice of their dishes is, of course, smaller.
- Paprikas krumpli- potatoes stewed with paprika. Sometimes sausage is added to it.
- Rakott krumpli- potato casserole. It consists of hard-boiled eggs and (as without it!) sausage.
- Csusza- pasta casserole. Chusa with poppy seeds is called makoscsusza, with cottage cheese - turoscsusza, with walnuts - dioscsusza.
Snacks: when you urgently need to eat
Sometimes you should prefer a simple, but original one to a complex dish.
Langos- fried flatbread, the most popular dish of Hungarian fast food. True, lángos is fried in boiling oil, but spread with sour cream and garlic or sprinkled with grated cheese, it is delicious. This flatbread can sometimes be eaten in the morning instead of breakfast.
Bundas kenyér- pieces of bread dipped in egg-milk mixture and fried in oil. If you spread them with honey or jam, you will get an excellent addition to tea.
Körözött- unsweetened curd paste, which the Hungarians themselves love very much. Pasta comes with various additives (dill, paprika, smoked meats). Just spread this yummy on bread, and a quick breakfast is ready.
What to try from Hungarian cuisine if you are going to travel around the country?
Debreceni paros kolbász- large and flavorful Debrecen sausages. The minced meat for them is made from pork and beef and flavored with paprika, garlic and cumin.
Miskolci kocsonyа- jellied meat, for which a festival is even held in the city of Miskolc-Tapolca.
Jellied meat in Miskolc has long ceased to be just a dish of meat and congealed broth: chefs have come up with many ways to prepare and serve it - for example, in dense cubes rolled in spices, it is difficult to recognize ordinary jelly. And by the way, we need to check why people in the city say: “It blinks like a frog in aspic.”
Hortobágyi húsos palacsinta- Hortobády pancakes with meat filling, which are prepared not far from, in Hortobágy Puszta. Before serving, pancakes are baked in the oven with sour cream and paprika sauce.
Desserts: those with a sweet tooth, come on over!
Hungarian desserts make your mouth water, even if you've had a big meal before. But before licking your lips at complex high-calorie cakes, please your child with simple pastries.
Kurtőskalács- a crispy golden tube sprinkled with sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nuts and other all kinds of goodies. There is no filling in it, and it is not needed: the dough itself is very tasty. The tubes are baked in street tents over coals, and it is best to eat this delicacy warm - especially since kürtöskalács are always sold at Christmas markets.
For the main Hungarian sweet - marzipan - you can go to a regular store or to one of the marzipan museums. It's amazing that a mixture of ground almonds and powdered sugar can be so delicious.
Somlói galuska- a traditional dish in Hungary that has nothing to do with dumplings. This is a dessert made from slices of nut and chocolate sponge cake topped with whipped cream. Shomloy dumplings can be served in a bowl or in the form of a cake, and raisins or prunes are sometimes added to the delicacy.
Retes- a roll that is very reminiscent of Austrian strudel. The filling for it is made from apples, cherries, cottage cheese, poppy seeds, and nuts.
Rigo Jancsi- a cake made from two slices of sponge cake, between which there is a thick layer of chocolate mousse.
Gundel palacinta- Gundel pancakes. Your child will appreciate Károly Gundel's contribution to the national cuisine of Hungary: you will be surprised how quickly the plate becomes empty. But it is worth keeping in mind that this dessert is prepared in pork fat, which is why it turns out to be as high in calories as many Hungarian dishes.
Turós gombóc- curd balls boiled in water and poured with sweet syrup (sometimes sweet filling is placed inside the balls).
Gourmets praise two famous Hungarian cakes, "Dobosh" And "Esterhazy". It is advisable to take a small piece of each of the cream cakes... and then order another large piece.
Dobostorta- a cake made of thin sponge cakes, smeared with chocolate cream and topped with caramel glaze. It has been baked for the second hundred years, and it is on the list of the most popular desserts in Hungary.
Eszterházy torta- almond-chocolate cake, decorated with a special spider web design. The dessert was named after Hungarian Foreign Minister Pal Esterhazy.
At Christmas in Hungary, it is customary to bake bagels - rolls made from yeast dough with poppy seeds and nuts.
Drinks: unique “Tokai” and more
When talking about Hungarian drinks, the first thing people mention is wine.
- Egri bikaver- dry red wine that goes well with hearty meat dishes.
- Száraz Tokaji Szamorodni, Tokaji aszu- dessert wines, a good end to the meal.
- Palinka- brandy made from grapes, apricots and other fruits. The best grape palinka is produced in Tokaj, the city of Kecskemét is famous for its apricot palinka.
- Unicum- herbal balm. It is believed that the name was given to it by Emperor Joseph II, for whom the drink was created. The emperor liked the taste of the balm so much that he exclaimed: “Das ist ein Unikum!”
The most popular soft drink in Hungary is coffee (kávé). They drink it often and a lot. Tea They order less often, and therefore cafes usually brew tea in bags. But Hungarian mineral water is a medicinal drink, not a table drink. There is no need to quench their thirst.
What to offer your child
From just the description of Hungarian cuisine, it is clear that this is not the most suitable food for children. You will almost always need to ask the cook not to put hot paprika in the children's food and not to dress the salad with rendered fat.
Hungarians believe that paprika can be given to children over 12 years of age, but in fact, young Hungarians become familiar with the traditional hot taste from the age of 4-5.
Among the dishes that a child can eat without any reservations are: soups főzelék and ujhazi, pasta casserole csusza, tarhonya and desserts. Sandwiches with Körözött curd paste are also quite suitable for a children's table, just choose pasta without smoked meats.
A good dish for a child - ear halászle. The only thing is that you need to exclude paprika from the recipe. Also ask for toltott paprika stuffed peppers without spicy seasonings.
Almost all soups, goulash, perkölt, paprikash, and potato casseroles are prepared with the addition of lard, smoked meats and paprika, so please specify when ordering that the dish is intended for your baby. The same applies to pancakes: they are often fried in lard.
Restaurants with national cuisine
You don’t have to look for a restaurant serving Hungarian cuisine: there are an incredible variety of them both in and in other cities of Hungary.
They differ in interior design, food service and prices. You can choose a gourmet restaurant in the city center or a simple tavern away from tourist spots - everywhere you will be wished “Jó étvágyat!” (“Bon appetit!”) and feed you to your heart’s content.
When getting acquainted with national cuisine, do not order your child a whole portion of new food. Restaurant portions are often so large that only a very hungry eater can eat them. Suggest trying a little of everything.
Interestingly, some restaurants of Hungarian cuisine offer an adapted version of national dishes - less fatty and spicy, without the use of smoked sausages. Their menu also includes the usual food: vegetable salads, egg dishes, broths, porridges.
Restaurants usually do not serve desserts. Remember the word cukrászda (confectionery), it will show you where to look for the best Hungarian sweets.
Note that in Transcarpathia, where many Hungarians live, Hungarian cuisine is also very popular. Restaurants often include goulash, pörkölt, and halasle on their menus.
A well-fed tourist in Hungary dreams not of sightseeing, but of a quiet room and a comfortable bed. If you have not yet decided where to stay in Budapest, take a look at. It includes only those hotels that truly welcome guests with children.
Hungarian cuisine is distinguished by great variety and imagination in the preparation of dishes, their richness and the use of a wide variety of seasonings. The most famous dish is, of course, goulash. However, this is not at all the same roast meat with vegetables and gravy that is served in other European countries. Authentic Hungarian goulash is a thick, spicy soup with large pieces of meat and potatoes. The tradition of making goulash is very ancient. It was invented by the ancestors of modern Hungarians - the nomadic tribes of the Magyars. For whole days they drove their herds across the steppes of the Middle Danube and were forced to stock up on dried beef and lamb. When the need arose for a snack, nomadic shepherds simply threw meat into a cauldron of boiling water.
In addition to the main ingredients used to prepare goulash, the Magyars also added tarhonya, noodles in the form of circles, to this soup. Nowadays, tarhonya is served as a side dish for many Hungarian dishes. Generally speaking, dishes that combine the first and second are a characteristic feature of Hungarian cuisine. Among other dishes belonging to this category, it is necessary to note, first of all, lecho (in Hungary it is a dish made from onions, tomatoes, paprika and lightly smoked pork sausage) and paprikash chicken with dumplings.
Soups, including fruit ones, such as Transylvanian cherry soup with sour cream, honey and rosemary, occupy a worthy place in modern Hungarian cuisine. If you happen to travel along the Danube or along the banks of the Tisza, be sure to try the famous local fish soup. At the Halaszle folk festival, which takes place annually on July 12 in Bayeux (Southern Great Plain), a delicious fish soup with noodles and red peppers is prepared. There are several types of this fish soup: in Kalocs, in Szeged, in Paks, and even... for revelers! Homemade noodles with cabbage, potatoes, spinach or green beans are popular, as is ujhazi chicken broth.
Having briefly dealt with the first, let’s move on to the second. Here, the imagination of Hungarians is unparalleled, so even the most seasoned gourmet in gastronomic battles will have to rack their brains studying the menu. In most of these dishes, paprika plays a leading role. Such dishes include, for example, perkelt, tokan and paprikash. Perkelt, which in the rest of the world is called "goulash", is a meat stew with a lot of chopped onions. There are different types of this dish in Hungarian cuisine. Perkelt is prepared from veal, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, venison, and hare. There are even fish and crab perkelt, as well as vegetable and mushroom ones. By and large, perkelt can be called anything that is fried (and the name of the dish comes from this word), finely chopped with onion, then sprinkled with paprika and stewed. 
Tokan differs from perkelt only in that the meat for it is cut into thin strips, and onions and paprika are added in smaller quantities, while adding sour cream, mushrooms, green peas and herbs for taste. As for paprikash, this name hides many dishes where the meat is finely chopped, flavored with paprika, and the sauce is softened with cream or sour cream. Paprikash is prepared from fish, chicken, veal or lamb, but never from beef, goose, lamb, duck or game, because the main requirement when preparing real paprikash is: “Neither fatty nor black meat.”
Another traditional dish is roasts of all kinds. For example, “virgin roast” is prepared from suckling pig stuffed with pickled pork ham. Or roast beef (roast beef), prepared in a variety of ways.
Fish dishes usually include fillets of carp, pike or pike perch. The latter is considered the best fish that can be caught in Hungarian rivers. Noodles with cheese and bacon are served as a side dish for fish dishes.
Vegetable dishes such as sweet peppers, zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes, and cabbage are widely represented in Hungarian cuisine. First, the vegetables are cut into small pieces, stewed, then a sauté made from flour and sour cream or grated potatoes are added. This method is called "fezelek". Traditional fözelek is made from spinach, zucchini, cabbage, potatoes, beans, lentils and kohlrabi.
Popular appetizers include ham with horseradish, Hungarian salami, various meat salads, champignons in eggs, and goose liver fried in lard. A typical delicacy is foie gras. The menu of the Hungarian restaurant also includes dishes for vegetarians. For example, hot cheese, fried champignons or champignon soup, fruit soups.
And, of course, it is simply impossible to imagine a real Hungarian feast without the famous Tokaj wine, which King Louis XIV of France called “the king of wines, the wine of kings.” The tradition of making Tokaj wine dates back many centuries. Its most famous variety is asu, the value of which depends on the amount of dried honey-sweet grapes from the late harvest. 
All varieties of the Samorodni variety - dry, sweet and semi-sweet - also have a wonderful bouquet. Hungarian red wines are produced in the regions of Eger, Pecs and Szeszard. Its best varieties include Oxblood, Medina, Villani Burgundy and Oporto.
Let's talk now about sweet dishes. Desserts of Hungarian cuisine are a real feast for those with a sweet tooth and a tragedy for those on a diet. Just the sight of these delicacies, most of which are covered in clouds of delicate cream, evokes desire. However, for the sake of these exquisite and surprisingly tasty delicacies, you should forget about any diets. One of the most famous Hungarian desserts is a retesh roll made from thin dough with apple, cherry, poppy seed, cottage cheese and other fillings. Retesh was invented precisely in Hungary and immediately gained the love of not only the inhabitants of the country, but also other peoples. There is even a legend according to which the Parisian Ritz restaurant sent a pastry chef to Budapest to find out the recipe for the famous roll. You should definitely try the Shomloy dumplings made from sponge-chocolate dough with whipped cream, as well as the famous Gundel pancakes with nut-chocolate filling. Pancakes are also baked with cheese, mushrooms or poppy seeds. Another great Hungarian delicacy: mashed chestnuts with whipped cream. And, of course, you need to try all these wonderful delicacies with coffee, which is prepared excellently in Hungary.