Nokedli (Hungarian dumplings)

• Before serving, you can toss them with a little butter or oil to keep them from sticking together.
  
  
• If serving them alongside a saucy dish, extra fat is not necessary.

Fresh, homemade nokedli is an indispensable accompaniment of Hungarian cooking: a perfect soaker-up of the sauce of stews and paprikás dishes, and it is ready in a few minutes.

1. In a large bowl mix the plain flour, the eggs and the salt, then gradually add the water.

2. Stir it with a wooden spoon until you get a soft, but not runny, slightly stretchy, thick batter – its consistency should be like a thick pancake batter.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and add a little sunflower oil to it, so the dumplings do not stick together.

4. Drop the batter through a dumpling maker into the boiling water – if you have no maker, you can drag the pieces of batter in with a knife off a wet board.

5. When the dumplings float up to the surface of the water, cook them a further 1-2 minutes.

6. Strain them, rinse them with cold water, then serve them warm.

Tip: Before serving you can toss them in a little oil, so they do not stick together – but beside a saucy dish there is no need for even that.