Ingredients

• 450g (1Ib) shin of beef, trimmed and cut into small cubes
• 2 tablespoons beef dripping olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
• 1 teaspoon Italian style seasoning or herbes de provence
• ½ teaspoon caraway seeds, crushed in a mortar 
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 x 400ml can good quality diced tomatoes or half can 896ml (28fl oz) whole tomatoes
• 4 cups beef stock (broth)
• 2 teaspoons good quality tomato paste (Uk-puree)
• 300g potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes (1½ cups diced)
• 150g carrots peeled and diced into cubes (1 cup diced)
• 1 small green or red bell pepper seeded and diced into small pieces
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 150ml sour cream or thick natural yoghurt to serve the soup

For the dumplings

• 125g all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper to taste
• 50g (3 tablespoons, 2oz) cold unsalted butter, diced into cubes
• about ¼ cup water or enough to make a smooth elastic dough

Instructions

1. Season the meat with salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based pot and fry the meat over high heat until well browned.
2. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and cook until golden.
3. Add the flour, paprika, Italian seasoning, caraway seeds, and garlic, and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stock, increase the heat and bring to the boil, then cover, reduce the heat and simmer 45 minutes. (if using whole dice them into small pieces).
4. Stir in the tomato paste (puree), potatoes ,carrots and bell pepper and bring back to the boil and simmer another ten minutes. Now make the dumpling during the ten minutes.
5. To make dumplings. Whisk or sift the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add enough water to make a smooth elastic dough. Divide the dough into 12 small dumplings and pop them into the soup. Cover the pot and simmer for another 25 minutes (after adding dumplings). Adjust seasoning and serve soup with a dollop of sour cream or yoghurt.

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