You open a Hungarian menu and find two words with more accents than letters. Túrós csusza sounds like a tongue twister, and on paper it looks like a strange mix. It is also one of the most comforting things you can eat in Hungary.

First, how do you say it?

Try this: TOO-rohsh CHOO-sah. The "s" in Hungarian sounds like the English "sh", and "cs" is the "ch" in "church". Say it with confidence, and the waiter will know exactly what you mean.

The name tells you how it feels to eat. csusza comes from the Hungarian verb csúszik, which means "to slide". It is simply the food that slides: the soft, creamy pieces glide over each other on the plate, and then down your throat just as easily.

The roots

Túrós csusza comes from the Hungarian peasant kitchen. Everything in it was cheap and close at hand: flour and eggs for the pasta, milk for the cheese and cream, pork from the family pig. It fed people well during long working days.

What's in it?

Csusza is a type of pasta. It comes in short, flat, irregular pieces, traditionally torn or cut by hand from a simple egg dough.

Túró is a fresh curd cheese. The closest things abroad are farmer's cheese or quark. It is crumbly, mild and slightly tangy, and Hungarians put it in everything from savoury dishes to desserts.

Tejföl is the Hungarian sour cream. It is richer and less sharp than most versions you find elsewhere.

Szalonnapörc is crispy bacon bits. Pork belly or bacon is slowly rendered until the pieces turn golden and crunchy.

Sweet or savoury?

Ask ten Hungarians and you might start an argument. Some families serve túrós pasta with sugar as a dessert. Others insist it belongs with bacon and nothing else. Both versions exist, but the one with crispy bacon is what you will usually find in restaurants.

Where to try it

At Korhely, you can order túrós csusza on itself and with harcsapaprikás, a catfish stew in a creamy paprikash sauce, which is our nod to the old riverside pairing.

Find us at Liszt Ferenc tér 7, open every day from 12:00 to 24:00.