When people think of Hungarian cuisine, the first dish that comes to mind is probably goulash (gulyás in Magyar). The real deal, however, is most likely different from what you think.
In Cuisine of Hungary, George Lang warns us that a true gulyás should contain no spice other than paprika and caraway, and gives us the origin of the recipe. Shepherds used to cook cubed meat (beef or mutton) with onions in a kettle until all the liquid evaporated, and then they dried the result in the sun so they could reheat it in water whenever they needed it. People nowadays usually don’t carry around their dry goulash for impromptu snacks anymore, but the basic method remains: the meat is simmered until done, and then water is added, either in small amount to make a stew, or more liberally to obtain a soup.
In Central Europe, and Western Europe even more so, gulyás has evolved into goulash, vaguely defined as “a stew made with meat […], assorted vegetables, and paprika”. Today’s rendition is definitely of the bastardized kind, though no less tasty for it. You may remember my Venison Goulash, and this recipe is pretty close to it, but less wintry — red peppers replace the root vegetables. While you can certainly use it with great success to prepare a beef, pork, or chicken goulash, I’ve chosen to focus on making… sauce.
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Food Perestroika 