Hungarian Lángos

One of the classics of the Hungarian kitchen, especially at the beaches around the big lakes, is Lángos.

A simple "in-between" snack

One of the most common dishes found around Lake Balaton and Lake Velence is Lángos - a deepfried dough that you eat either just like this or with different toppings.

Lángos is usually eaten as an "afternoon snack", but I think it definitely counts as a full meal.

Classic Lángos

The classic topping for Lángos is sour cream, garlic oil and grated cheese, but you can find it with many other toppings, too - especially in the cities - like bacon and onions or even with goulash.

Ingredients

(for 4 servings)

Dough:

• 300 g fine flour
• 100 ml milk
• 150 ml water
• 25 g fresh yeast
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar

Topping:

• 3 garlic cloves
• 200 ml sour cream
• 200 g grated cheese

Other:

• 2 l sunflower oil or deep-frying fat

Preparation

Put the milk into a cup and warm it until it's lukewarm (can be done in a microwave). Mix the powdered sugar and the yeast and let it rest for 10 minutes. Sift the flour into a big bowl, mix it with the salt and make a dent in the middle.

Pour in the yeasty milk into the dent, mix it with lukewarm water until you have a soft, but still hold-itself-together dough.

Let the dough rest for about an hour, until it's grown to twice it's original size.

Heat up the oil or fat in a deep pan (oil should be about 10 cm high) or deep-fryer to frying temperature. Form dough portions with about 5-6 cm diameter and flatten it with pulling motions. Deep-fry it for 2-4 minutes from both sides until the dough is gold-brown.

Press the garlic cloves and mix it with about 100 ml of water and oil.

The finished lángos can be taken with garlic oil, sour cream and cheese, depending on personal preferences - or, of course, with a completely different topping, if so desired.