2016-12-25 - Goulash - picture filched from Internet - will have to wait to make again to take my own photo

-----My mother made goulash that wasn't quite Hungarian goulash but did have paprika in it. The question was how much, and what other ingredients to flavor the gravy? After several attempts over several decades failed to replicate her taste, I stopped trying. She served it with noodles. I don't remember her using sour cream in the gravy, or using it as a garnish, but I added some in the gravy and I'm thrilled with the result; just enough paprika to satisfy my memory of mother's goulash. I'm sorry I was feeling too lazy to take a picture of the result, so here is a picture I filched from the Internet to be a placeholder until I make it again.
-----I was going to wait until the monthly food shopping, beginning of January, to decide on what I wanted to make as the first meal in the pressure cooker. Then, seeing as how I had 4+ lbs of stew meat in the freezer and remembering I had a package of goulash seasoning, I couldn't stand to wait any longer and decided on an ambitious first project. I'm not new to pressure cookers. I used the old-style stove-top pressure cooker with the rocker valve back in Mickleton for canning. I never prepared meals with it. If I did make an attempt or two, I don't recall, so the newness of this electric was very exciting.

Ingredients:
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2 lbs. beef round cubed stew meat
1/2 lg sweet onion cut into 5 chunks
3 large, thick carrots, cleaned and left whole
1 small tender celery stalk from the inside
1 pkg Knorr Goulash/beet stew seasoning mix
4 cups water
1 tsp salt
a few dashes of black pepper
1 tbsp Gravy Master ( the beef wasn't as browned as I would have liked)
1 bag extra-wide Pennsylvania Dutch brand egg noodles.
4 or so tbsp of flour
1/4 cup Breakstone's sour cream

manual, high pressure, 35 min., manual slow release

Directions:
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Use sautee function, wait till it says hot, then add beef cubes and brown. While the meat is browning prepare vegetables.

When the meat is brown add all other ingredients to pot, EXCEPT noodles,flour, sour cream. Reserve those for the end.

manual, high pressure, 35 min., manual slow release.

While goulash is cooking boil a bag of noodles.

If desired, and I did, when goulash is finished cooking give the gravy a little body with a few tbsp of flour.

Then, instead of using sour cream on top for garnish, I added the sour cream in the gravy. Personal preference.

I will cut cooking time next time around to 30 min with a quick release and see how that fares. The meat at 35 min. was very tender and carrots were well done and still held their shape when removing from pot, so no complaints, but I don't think I need those extra five minutes, or the slow release.