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1
In a bogrács or heavy cast-iron pot over an open fire or high heat, melt the lard. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they are deeply golden and soft — they must not be pale. The colour of the onion base determines the depth of the finished soup.
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2
Pull the pot off direct heat. Add the paprika and caraway seeds and stir immediately for no more than thirty seconds. This is where the dish lives or dies: paprika scorches in seconds on high heat, turning acrid and black; the fat must carry it and the pot must be off the flame before it goes in.
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3
Return the pot to the heat. Add the beef cubes and season with salt. Stir to coat every piece in the paprika-onion base. Cook until the beef has lost its raw colour on all sides and the mixture begins to smell of roasting meat.
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4
Pour in the water or stock. The liquid should be generous — this is a soup, not a stew; you must be able to see through it, the paprika tinting it a clear crimson. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the beef is beginning to yield but is not yet tender.
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5
Add the potatoes and carrots. Continue simmering until both vegetables are cooked through and the beef is fully tender — a cube should offer no resistance when pressed between finger and thumb.
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6
Make the csipetke: mix the flour, egg, and salt into a stiff dough. Pinch off pea-sized pieces directly into the simmering soup. They are done when they float to the surface and have lost any raw-dough chewiness at the centre — taste one to confirm.
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7
Taste the finished soup for salt. The broth should be paprika-red, clear enough to see the vegetables through, and carry a clean, deeply savoury warmth. If it is opaque and thick, too much liquid has been lost — add hot water or stock to restore the brothiness before serving.