How I loved to eat Hungarian Beef Soup with Rivilchas. A tiny chewy dumpling for Hungarian soups, they were made fresh and cooked in the soup in the big stock pot after the meat and whole vegetables were removed to a separate serving platter. They cook up chewy, better than any noodle. My Mother would guickly mix the stiff dough and grate it into irregular gratings of dough.

Tarhonya can also be made in large bulk as the Ancient Hungarians made. These were dried hard and stored in a large container for years without spoiling.

Regards, June Meyer.

• 2 cups of sifted flour
• 2 whole eggs
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Mix the flour, eggs and salt together.
Knead to make a stiff dough. You may add a little water if the dough is too stiff.
Grate on the medium side of a grater. Rivilchas or Tarhonya should be the size of dried peas.
Let the Tarhonya dry for 1/2 hour and then add to boiling water 1/2 cup at a time and cook till done.
Drain and serve in hot Beef Soup, hot Chicken Soup or Tomato Soup.

Note: If you have a large pot of boiling soup, you can cook these Rivilchas or Tarhonya in the soup.

Bulk Dried Tarhonya (about 25 servings)

• 2 pounds of flour
• 7 whole eggs
• 1 1/2 Tbs. salt
• 1 cup of water

In a small mixing bowl mix eggs with the water and salt. Beat well.
Put the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the egg mixture a little at a time.
Blend the dough with your hands in a rubbing motion as though you were washing your hands with the palms open. The mix should become uneven little pieces of dough the size of dried peas.
Break up any that look large. The mix should be somewhat uniform.
Spread out a tablecloth on a table and spread the Tarhonya on it in a thin layer so that all the pieces are exposed to the air. Let dry until very hard, this will take 3 or 4 days.
While the mix is drying, roll your fingers through to mix it up so all sides are exposed to air.
When you are sure that the mix has dried hard, store in a container.

Note: Make Tarhonya in the hot summer, never during a rainy season or the mix will never dry hard. If you have some particles that are larger and are not hard, sift them out and let them dry separately.

To Bake Dried Tarhonya (about 6 servings)

Brown 1/2 cup of dried Tarhonya in 3 Tbs. of butter or lard.
Add 1 tsp. of salt, 1 Tbs. Hungarian Paprika and water to cover.
Cover and bake in the oven at 375 degrees.
It will take about 35 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on the size and age of the dried Tarhonya.
The water should be absorbed when the Tarhonya is cooked.

Serve instead of potato, noodles, dumplings or rice.