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.

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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.

You can find the recipe here.

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Healthy tips:

• Besides the above-mentioned options, white flour can also be replaced with oat flour.
• Replace full-fat sour cream with low-fat sour cream or yoghurt.
• Use any of the previously mentioned oils for frying.

Mákos guba (poppy seed bread and butter pudding)

Mákos guba is one of the most well-known Hungarian desserts made with poppy seed. It is the delicious mixture of bread or crescent rolls – softened in milk −, poppy seed, sugar, and vanilla custard.

You can find the recipe here.

Healthy tips:

• Whole-wheat or low-carb pastries are good substitutes for white bread.
• Use reduced-fat or low-fat milk instead of whole milk; another great alternative is plant-based milk, like almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, or rice milk.
• White sugar has often been associated with obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, but it can be replaced with other sweeteners, such as stevia, xylitol, erythritol, or coconut sugar. However, it is important to check which alternatives are good for baking.

Palacsinta (crêpes)

The word ‘palacsinta’ refers to crêpes made with a variety of fillings, both sweet (cottage cheese crêpes) and savoury (Hortobágy meat crêpes). The batter is usually made from all-purpose flour, eggs, milk, and soda water.

You can find the recipe here.

Healthy tips:

• Besides the already mentioned alternatives for white flour, you can also use oat flour, rice flour, or psyllium husk. Nonetheless, it has to be noted that it is more difficult to achieve the traditional “thinness” with these substitutes.
• In the case of sweet fillings such as cottage cheese or jam, you can use sweeteners and add fresh fruits.

Source: Daily News Hungary