Rice dishes, Kutia

Rice dishes, Kutia

Rice dishes

Recipes for main courses → Porridge → Kutia

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Kutia is a funeral dish, a sweet porridge, which was usually prepared from whole grains of wheat or other cereals with the addition of honey, raisins or nuts. Here is a widespread modern version of funeral kutya - a recipe made from rice, but you can also use it to prepare classic kutya from wheat.

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Funeral kutia from rice with honey and raisins: recipe for making step by step

Kutia is a common Orthodox dish. This is a sweet porridge made from rice or wheat, with the addition of honey, nuts, candied fruits, dried fruits and poppy seeds. It is served on all Orthodox holidays and funerals. The ingredients of the dish may vary, but its theory remains the same. It is important to note that any ingredient has a certain symbolic meaning.

What does kutia symbolize?

When a person passes away, the task of his loved ones and relatives becomes the spiritual support of the soul of the deceased. Usually at a wake, loved ones gather around the table, pray and remember the deceased person. Remember the rule - they either say good things about a dead person or nothing. If you speak badly, then the soul will not be able to rest.

At funerals, funeral kutia is served. Usually a traditional version of the dish is prepared, with raisins and honey. Other ingredients - dried fruits, nuts or candied fruits - are added as desired. If the date of the funeral does not coincide with fasting, the dish can be prepared with milk, cream or poppy seeds.

Kutya symbolizes immortality; it is used to honor the memory of the deceased. Sacred meaning of ingredients:

1. Rice (or other cereal). The grain symbolizes the resurrection of the soul from the world of the dead. When grain is thrown into the ground, it sprouts and produces new fruits, but it dies itself. The same thing happens to the deceased if he was buried according to Christian customs. The body of the deceased will decay in the ground, but his soul will resurrect and live forever.
2. Honey. It is added to the dish so that the immortal soul can enjoy the heavenly sweetness. This ingredient symbolizes the peace and bliss of never-ending life. It is clear that Jesus ate honey when he resurrected and appeared to his disciples.
3. Raisins and other dried fruits. They symbolize fruits from the Garden of Eden that could heal. This is a sign of health and well-being.

Rules for serving and consuming food

It is customary to cook kutia not on the day of serving, but in advance. The dish is served on the day of the funeral. They take it with them to church for a memorial service or funeral service, where the priest blesses sweet rice. In rare cases, the dish is blessed independently with holy water. After the service, the kutya is taken back home or to the funeral service area.

It is customary to eat kutya with a spoon, which is usually done. This rule is not serious, and the Orthodox Church allows the use of forks and knives during meals.

The belief about spoons goes back to the distant times of the reign of Peter I. The ruler was the first to introduce the custom of using forks, which ordinary people did not like. Farmers called the table device a “demonic tail,” the introduction of which would destroy the immortal soul of an Orthodox person. That is why, for fear of harming the soul of the deceased, they served the table only with spoons.

Kutya is eaten not only on the day of funerals. It is served on the 9th, 40th day, six-month and one-year anniversary of death.

Crafting Recipes

There are several recipes for making the dish. The traditional recipe involves adding rice, honey, and raisins. Preparing sweet rice is simple, but you need to follow the cooking rules, because the dish has a sacred meaning.

The dish is prepared on the stove or in the oven. A cauldron, a clay mold or a saucepan with a lid, or pots are suitable. The dish comes out savory, rich, as if it came out of a wood-burning oven. Below are several step-by-step recipes with photos.

Kutya recipe with honey and raisins

The number of ingredients is relative. You can increase it by observing the proportions. For 1 cup of rice you need 2 cups of water (1:2), for 2 cups of rice you need 4 cups of water, etc. Add raisins and other dried fruits to taste.

• rice – 1 glass;
• water – 2 tbsp.;
• honey - 2-3 tbsp. l.;
• salt – 1 pinch;
• seedless raisins – a handful (not more than 100 g).

How to cook traditional kutya (step-by-step recipe):

1. carefully wash the rice until the water becomes clear;
2. fill it with water and let it cook;
3. rinse the raisins and pour boiling water over them until they become soft and slightly swollen;
4. when the water boils, reduce the heat and cover the pan with a lid;
5. cook the porridge until cooked, it should completely absorb the liquid;
6. transfer the crumbly porridge into a dish in which you will combine all the ingredients;
7. place honey in 4 tbsp. l. pure water, you get syrup;
8. combine cooked rice, cooked raisins and honey syrup, mix thoroughly.

The mixture of kutya differs for each housewife, this is normal. You can prepare the raisins ahead of time. In a thick-bottomed frying pan, heat a tablespoon each of vegetable oil and butter. Add steamed raisins and simmer slightly. Then add to the porridge along with the remaining oil.

Rice kutia with honey, raisins and nuts

This type of kutia is prepared similarly to the previous one, only with the addition of nuts. Any nuts are suitable: walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, pine.

• rice – 1 glass;
• honey – 2-4 tbsp. l.;
• raisins - a large handful;
• nuts - approximately half a glass;
• water – 2 tbsp.

Wash the cereal well, cover with cool water and cook until tender. The porridge should turn out crumbly. While it cooks, prepare the remaining ingredients of the dish. Chop the nuts slightly ahead of time, do not grind them into flour, then mix with raisins. Pour boiling water over the raisins and nuts and leave to steep for 20-30 minutes.

Add watery honey in its pure form or dilute it with water in a 1:1 ratio, and melt the candied honey in a water bath. Then mix all the ingredients in one bowl and place the dish in the refrigerator.

In addition to raisins, it is allowed to add other dried fruits. Kutya will only become tastier from this. Dried apricots, dried cranberries and cherries, prunes and candied fruits are suitable. Add dried fruits to taste, but try not to overdo it so as not to overwhelm the taste of rice and other ingredients.

Kutya in a slow cooker

Multicookers have long been loved by housewives. In a slow cooker you can cook funeral kutia according to any recipe.

• cereal – 200 g (1 glass);
• water – 200-250 ml (depending on the type of multicooker);
• honey – 2-3 tbsp. l (or to taste);
• raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits - half a glass (optional);
• poppy seed – 2 tbsp. l.;
• nuts - a large handful.

Wash the cereal, place it in a bowl and fill it with water. Set the program to “rice”, “steamed rice”, “buckwheat” or “porridge” (depending on the brand). Then cook until done.

While the rice is cooking, prepare other foods:

• Pour boiling water over poppy seeds and leave for 10-20 minutes;
• also steam dried fruits and nuts in boiling water;
• Dilute honey with water or melt it in a water bath if it is hard.

When the cereal is cooked, mix the ingredients in one bowl. Then cool and refrigerate until serving.

Kutya: history and recipes for the main funeral dish

Kutia, or “kutia” is a common dish of the Orthodox funeral meal. The ingredients and individual characteristics of recipes can vary quite a lot from region to region; different versions of kutya have a lot in common. Almost always it is a mixture of boiled cereals (wheat, barley, rice, etc.), sweetened with honey, fruit (apples are usually used), dried fruits (prunes, raisins, dried apricots) and nuts. Kutya is often confused with its typical “twin brother” - the so-called “koliv”. The confusion occurs due to the fact that from a culinary point of view, “kutya” and “kolivo” are actually the same dish. The difference here is purely symbolic, but no less fundamental: kutia is eaten for funerals, and kolivo - for Lent.

Usual funeral meal

The symbolic meaning of kutya is established by the Church Charter (“Typikon”), which directly connects the funeral meal with the Divine service. It should also be kept in mind that in the Orthodox tradition, a “wake” is a holiday of memory not only and not so much about a specific deceased person, but about God and the world order he created. This holiday is a reminder that there is a fleeting earthly and an eternal divine, and the divine in this pair is constantly put at the forefront. Through the prism of death and loss, the commemoration “reminds” of truly fundamental themes that any truly believing Orthodox person lives and breathes. Kutya here is one of the main symbolic nodes and tools of this “reminder”.

Kutya signs

The symbolism of Kutya is built around the central theme of not only Orthodoxy, but all of Christianity as a whole - around the theme of resurrection. The basis of this dish is grains (be it rice, wheat or barley), which since ancient times have been perceived by almost all cultures, including Christian ones, as a sign of the return of life. The grain is an indication that, even though the dead man’s earthly journey is over, a new, real life awaits him in heaven. Honey and sweeteners here play the role of a hint of the sweetness of heavenly blessings.

The spirit of Orthodox conciliarity also connects with kutya the tradition of bringing it (together with other products) to church. There the kutya is left on a special funeral table - “eve”, so that the parishioners who eat the food remember the one for whom the offering is made.

History of the recipe and symbolism of kutya

Nothing in culture arises or remains just like that, and such an ancient dish as kutia is no exception. The word itself is Greek in origin; historical linguists date it back to the pre-Christian era. This means it is practically “boiled wheat”. But kutya was in no way allowed to be included in the daily diet of the old Greek and ordinary dishes of local cuisine. It was a ritual food of local pagan cults and had a completely defined sacred meaning: by eating kutya, the believer comprehended the connection and mutual transition of life and death, parts of the endless cycle of existence. The main sign of kutya is the grain itself, which, being “dead,” can store “life” in a curled, dormant form for a long time, waiting for spring and flowering. This is precisely why the pagans prepared the oldest version of kutya only during funerals, but also for marriage and at the birth of children. During late antiquity, kolibo became an indispensable element of memorial gifts at funerals.

Funeral kutia recipes

Ordinary rice kutia is perhaps the most widespread, common and “modern” recipe for an ancient funeral dish. To make it you will need:

• ½ cup long grain rice;
• 100 grams of large raisins (seedless);
• 1 ½ tablespoons honey;
• crushed almonds and finely chopped dried apricots.

How to cook:

1. Take half a glass of long grain rice, preferably previously steamed. Rice should definitely be washed in running water to remove excess starch and gluten - otherwise, your kutia may not be “crumbly” and risks becoming rice porridge from a kindergarten.
2. Place the rice over medium heat in a saucepan filled with cool water. The water should cover the rice by half a finger.
3. After the water boils, you need to turn down the heat to low and allow the water to boil.
4. At this time, you should wash the raisins in running water, then pour boiling water over them for a couple of minutes, cool and dry. If other dried fruits are used as a “dressing” for your kutia, then you should do the same with them.
5. Add honey to hot rice. It is necessary to ensure that the honey “disperses” perfectly into the rice and is absorbed into it.
6. Add dried fruits and crushed almonds to rice sweetened with honey.
7. Kutya should be served in deep bowls, garnished with pieces of fruit and dried fruit.

Kutya “generous” made with wheat is the most ancient and common recipe for kutia. To make it you will need:

• 1 cup wheat grains;
• 100 grams of large raisins (seedless);
• 100 grams of almonds;
• 50 grams of poppy seeds;
• 2 tablespoons of honey.

How to cook:

1. After previously soaking it overnight (that is, in the dark), place the wheat grains in a saucepan and add water so that it covers the grains by at least a centimeter. Cook until cooked (until the water evaporates).
2. While the wheat is boiling, you need to prepare the almonds: scald with boiling water, peel and chop/crush into small pieces.
3. Pour boiling water over the raisins and leave for a couple of minutes, then drain the hot water and dry the raisins.
4. Steam poppy seeds. To create this, you need to add a little boiling water to a cup or bowl with poppy seeds, then close the lid to make a water “bath” in the container. After the poppy seed has swelled with water and cooled completely, it will need to be rubbed with a coffee grinder or in a mortar and pestle.
5. Add honey to boiled wheat. It is necessary to ensure that the honey “disperses” perfectly in the boiled grain and is completely absorbed into it.
6. Mix the finished sweetened grain with other ingredients: grated poppy seeds, raisins and nuts. Serve in large bowls.

Maybe you will be interested:

Kutya funeral

Kutia is a ritual funeral dish (special grain porridge), which is served in a common bowl and eaten with hands or spoons. Kutya comes out sweet with the addition of honey, raisins and poppy seeds. In modern conditions, kutya can be prepared not only as a ritual dish, but also as a tasty, healthy rice dish for an ordinary everyday table.

Ingredients for “Funeral Kutya”:

• Water - 2.5 cups.
• Rice (TM Mistral KUBAN) – 130 g
• Honey - 3 tbsp. l.
• Raisins – 100 g
• Poppy – 20 g
• Salt - to taste
• Butter - 40 g

Nutritional and energy value:

Recipe for “Funeral Kutya”:

Rice can be soaked for 1-2 hours and poured into boiling salted water.

Cook until done.

A slightly viscous porridge comes out.

Pour boiling water over the raisins for a few minutes. We drain the water.

Heat honey and poppy seeds together with butter.

Add to the porridge.

Serve in a common dish.

Symbolism and meaning of funeral cereals.
During a wake, kutya is always placed on the table.
The tradition of cooking kutia (from the Greek - “grain”) at funerals most quickly arose in the 10th century. After Prince Vladimir made a choice in favor of Christianity, hundreds of clergy came to Rus' from Byzantium. It was they who introduced our forefathers to the Greek custom of eating a special ritual porridge at funerals. In general, the famous Russian ethnographer Dmitry Zelenin admitted that this tradition originated in Rus' even earlier, back in pagan times. And the contribution of the Byzantines was only that they gave the funeral porridge a name. Like any other ordinary dish, kutia carries a certain meaning within itself - above all, thanks to the ingredients included in it.
Grain - steamed or boiled - meant resurrection from the dead. After it falls into the ground and sprouts, new life arises from it. The grain itself rots. This is approximately what happens with the body of the deceased. Our ancestors considered honey and raisins not only as signs of health and prosperity.
They symbolized the sweetness of bliss of endless life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Thus, the two light ingredients of kutya meant immortality, resurrection and the bliss of endless life. It is always the first dish on the table and must be blessed in the church after the funeral service for the dead person or requiem service. You can also sprinkle the kutia with holy water yourself before serving it at the funeral table. According to custom, kutia was constantly eaten with specially baked bread, which was broken by hand. It was strictly forbidden to cut such bread with a knife. (Information from the web)

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