4 traditional Hungarian dishes with a healthy twist

In recent years, health-consciousness has become more and more popular, which had a great impact on people’s food choices. A healthy diet has been scientifically proven to increase life expectancy and provide numerous health benefits, such as reducing the risk of several chronic diseases. However, making major changes to your diet can sometimes seem overwhelming. Instead, you can change your eating habits a little bit at a time. We all have our favourite traditional dishes that we do not want to give up. Hungarian cuisine is full of delicious and diverse meals, but recipes often include goose or duck fat, lard, sour cream, white flour, or white sugar. However, with some small changes, traditional meals can be incorporated into a healthy diet.

We have gathered 4 traditional Hungarian dishes to give you some tips.

Rántott hús (breaded pork chop/chicken)

Rántott hús can be considered one of Hungary’s staple dishes, usually made at the weekend or for family celebrations. The type of meat can vary; pork and chicken are the most popular options. First, flatten the meat slices and season them with salt and pepper. Cover them with the flour first, then with the beaten egg, and then with breadcrumbs. Finally, fry the breaded meat until it becomes crisp and golden brown.

Healthy tips:

• Replace fat with canola oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, or coconut oil.
• Coat the meat slices with whole-wheat or low-carb flour instead of white flour
  (compared to white flour, whole-wheat flour is higher in fibre).
• Mix some oat bran into the breadcrumbs so that the breading will soak up less oil.
  (Oats are widely regarded as one of the healthiest grains, they are high in antioxidants and fibres. Oat bran is the outer layer of the oat grain, and it is full of nutrients and vitamins.)

Lángos

Lángos is a simple but delicious part of our cuisine. It is one of the most popular street foods in Hungary. The ingredients are water or milk, flour, yeast, and salt, which are worked together either by hand or a kneading machine. After the dough is fried in oil, it is topped with garlic, sour cream, and cheese.