Kutya

Kutia is a ritual dish; it is prepared on Christmas Eve, for Epiphany and for the remembrance of the departed. Kutya is technologically ordinary, and doesn’t require complex ingredients.

Products for kutya - peeled grains: wheat, barley, rice, and sweet additives: previously fed - honey with water, and now candied fruits, nuts, raisins and honey.

The dish has pagan roots. The funeral kutya was placed on the table as a treat for the departed, in order to honor the forefathers. It was believed that this way you could bring success and happiness into your home for the whole year. But despite its pagan roots, kutia has taken root in the Orthodox culinary tradition and is blessed in the church, symbolizing the unity of the living and the dead in common immortality.

Customs and traditions associated with Kutya

The name of the dish is of Greek origin: this word in Byzantium was used to describe a funeral meal made from boiled wheat. Together with other Christian traditions, the custom of preparing kutya came to the Slavs, where it took root for almost all centuries.

Sweet porridge with honey and nuts symbolizes prosperity, abundance, fertility, health and well-being, which is why it was placed on the table on huge holidays. It was believed that the richer the dish was (more satisfying and with a huge number of additives), the more successful the year would be. It is with kutia that it is customary to start the Christmas meal and end it with it too. According to established tradition, all family members and, in addition to them, pets and livestock should taste the dish - this will protect them from diseases and give them good health.

On Christmas Eve they prepare Lenten kutya, because at this time fasting still lasts.
It is forbidden to use any products of animal origin - no butter, no milk, no cream. On Christmas, it is customary to treat relatives who live separately, friends, and neighbors to their own kutia. The more people try it, the more benefits it promises in the future. In a separate bowl, kutya is left for the dead fathers, who, according to beliefs, protect the house. Kutya is carried to the temple to consecrate it, but if there is no such ability, you can sprinkle the dish with holy water without the help of others.

Types of kutya: sweet and savory, colivo and juicy, lean and “rich”

In addition to the composition, the kutia is different and the mixture is different. Cool kutya - kolivo, from the outside it resembles crumbly sweet porridge. The semi-liquid dish is called sochivo; it is customary to eat it with spoons. This type of kutia got its name due to the fact that one of its components is “juice” or lean milk obtained from nuts, poppy seeds or hemp.

Composition of kutya: essential ingredients and additional

Base

The base of the dish is boiled whole grains of wheat, barley, pearl barley, oats, rice, buckwheat and others. To separate out all the excess, the cereal is first pounded in a mortar, adding a little water. Afterwards, the grains are soaked and then boiled. The base of the kutya must be soft, so it is better to keep it on the stove than to remove it ahead of time.

Wheat is the usual base for kutya, but recently rice is becoming increasingly popular. Yes, this is a noticeable departure from tradition, but it mixes well with honey, raisins and nuts. The rice dish is usually served at funerals, but it can also be prepared for Christmas. If you boil rice in milk, kutya will no longer be lean, and it is not allowed to serve it on Christmas Eve, but during other holidays it will become a table decoration.

Refueling

The second component of traditional kutya is dressing. For a lean dish, milk from nuts, poppy seeds, and almonds is used, and for a fast dish, cream, butter, and milk are used.

Nut or poppy milk is prepared by grinding the base in a mortar, grinding in a meat grinder or blender until a snow-white liquid appears. This will be juicy, it will replace the milk in Kutya. In addition to sochiv, virtually any recipe contains honey or satiate. Some kutia recipes use dried fruit compote, fruit juice or sweet syrup as a dressing.

Other ingredients

Nuts, raisins, dried fruits, candied fruits, steamed poppy seeds, marmalade, spices, and jam are placed in kutya. Dried fruits are soaked in advance. The freshest fruits are consumed occasionally, because if stored for a long time, they can ferment in the porridge, spoiling it. If you include fruits, it is better just before eating, so that they retain their own taste and thickness.

Kutya recipes

Funeral kutia

This dish is an integral attribute of funerals or holidays, where it is customary to honor the dead ancestors.

Ingredients:

a glass of rice;
2 glasses of water;
salt;
sugar;
50 grams of raisins;
2 tablespoons honey;
50 grams of candied fruits or marmalade sweets.

Wash the rice and then cook it into a crumbly, not sticky, porridge. Add sweet sand, salt and honey. Steam the raisins in hot water for 10 minutes until they become soft, then dry. Now you can combine the raisins and rice. Before serving the finished kutya on the table, it is laid out on a plate in a heap, decorated with marmalade or candied fruits.

Christmas kutia

They prepare it on Christmastide, take it to church for blessing, and treat it to relatives and loved ones before Christmas. Christmas kutia symbolizes fertility, wealth and prosperity throughout the year.

Ingredients:

candies to taste (preferably marmalade);
100 grams of raisins;
a glass of previously clean wheat;
berry compote (you can cook it from dried fruits);
2 tablespoons honey;
50 grams of candied fruits;
nuts for decoration.

If there is no wheat, then rice is also suitable for kutya. Pour cold water over the cereal and boil until tender. Pour the compote into the porridge and stir the mixture well: it should turn out semi-liquid, like a regular dish that was placed on the table. The mixture of the dish depends on the amount of compote: if someone wants steep kutia, then quite a bit - for taste, if you want watery, pour in one or two glasses. Lastly, add candies, honey, raisins, candied fruits to the kutya and decorate with nuts.

Rich Kutya

Ingredients:

4 cups wheat cereal;
½ cup sugar;
½ cup chopped dried apricots;
½ cup poppy seeds;
½ cup chopped prunes;
raisins, nuts;
cognac to taste;
honey to taste.

First, boil the grains and soak the poppy seeds in hot water for a couple of minutes. Afterwards, strain and grind the poppy seeds with sweet sand. In another bowl, soak prunes, raisins and dried apricots for 20 minutes (also in hot water). Mix chopped dried fruits with nuts, poppy seeds and wheat. At the very end, add a little honey and at least some cognac for taste.

Subtleties of making, storing and serving kutia

It is better to boil grains and cereals in a bowl with a thick bottom. Thin-walled grains can burn and spoil the taste of the dish.

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. That is why the pagans prepared the oldest version of kutia 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:

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.
Place the rice over medium heat in a saucepan filled with cool water. The water should cover the rice by half a finger.
After the water boils, you need to turn down the heat to low and allow the water to boil.
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.
Add honey to hot rice. It is necessary to ensure that the honey “disperses” perfectly into the rice and is absorbed into it.
Add dried fruits and crushed almonds to rice sweetened with honey.
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:

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).
While the wheat is boiling, you need to prepare the almonds: scald with boiling water, peel and chop/crush into small pieces.
Pour boiling water over the raisins and leave for a couple of minutes, then drain the hot water and dry the raisins.
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 create 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.
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.
Mix the finished sweetened grain with other ingredients: grated poppy seeds, raisins and nuts. Serve in large bowls.

Kutya

Kutya, kutya, sochivo, kolivo is a religious dish that is prepared for Christmas and other ritual events. More details about kutya .

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.

Kutia is an ancient dish of Slavic cuisine, most often served at Christmas. The main ingredient of kutya is wheat, and from relatively recent times, rice. Let's prepare delicious kutya from rice - with raisins, dried apricots and walnuts.

Cooking kutya for Christmas. My favorite recipe for wheat kutya, with raisins, poppy seeds, walnuts and honey. Be sure to use this tried and tested recipe for Christmas kutia!

Kutya (kutya) is a ritual porridge and Christmas treat. In my house, kutya is always prepared on Christmas Eve and Epiphany. The ingredients of Rozhdestvenskaya kutya are not just components of the recipe, they are signs. Wheat - Sunday, honey - health and strength of spirit, poppy - wealth, and raisins and nuts - family prosperity and longevity of relatives and friends. Everything will be great with us! :) And also, it’s very tasty.

Kutya is the main dish of Holy Evening (Christmas Eve). This sweet porridge is regularly served on January 6th. It must be tasted first at a gala dinner.

I bring to your attention a recipe for kutia for Christmas. Cooking kutya from rice is simple, but it turns out very tasty and healthy. I advise you to cook!

Kutya is usually served on the eve of Christmas, January 6th. Christmas kutia is prepared from wheat, poppy seeds, walnuts, raisins and honey.

Homemade kutia recipe for Holy Evening and Christmas! Delicious, juicy kutia made from pearl barley, with raisins, poppy seeds, walnuts and honey. If desired, kutya can be diluted with rich, fragrant uzvar.

Kutia is a porridge served at Christmas. There are no serious proportions in the ratio of rice, sugar, nuts and raisins - choose according to taste. I like it when there are more nuts and raisins!

On Christmas Eve it is customary to cook kutia. There are many options for making Christmas kutia. I suggest making kutya from wheat, with poppy seeds, raisins, walnuts and honey.

Christmas kutia (kutya) is a common ritual dish, indispensable on the festive table on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve, “rich” wheat kutia is prepared - savory, generous.

Kutia, or sweet porridge with honey, nuts, dried fruits and poppy seeds, is a dish served on Christmas Eve and Epiphany. I offer you the usual recipe for a very tasty barley kutya, which a cook of any level can handle.

Kutia is a sweet wheat porridge with honey, nuts, dried fruits and poppy seeds. I offer you the usual recipe for a very tasty Christmas kutia in a slow cooker. A cook of any level can handle making this kutia from wheat.

Very tasty kutia made with orange juice, with dried apricots, prunes, hazelnuts, almonds, honey and raisins. This rice kutia will decorate your table for Christmas.

Recipe for festive kutia made from wheat, with nuts, poppy seeds and raisins. Wheat kutia is prepared for Holy Evening and Christmas. It turns out that the kutya is very tasty and necessary. I advise you to cook!

Wheat kutia with poppy seeds is a common dish served at Christmas and Epiphany. A solemn and Lenten dish for your table.

Kutya or kutya is usually prepared by Christians for various occasions, but for almost everyone this dish is associated primarily with Christmas and the New Year. How to cook kutya is usually told to us by the guardians of family traditions - grandmothers. There is no one recipe for kutya. Christmas kutia is usually prepared from grain, poppy seeds, nuts, raisins, honey, sugar or jam. The kutia recipe can use both wheat and barley, classic cereals for the Slavs. Despite the fact that making kutya is a common task, we will tell you how to prepare delicious kutya. Pass the steamed poppy seeds and nuts through a meat grinder or beat in a blender. We do the same with raisins, although you can add them whole. We first soak the wheat or pearl barley and then boil it. Mix all the ingredients, add dried apricots, sugar or honey, the kutia is ready. From time to time they prepare kutya with almonds, which is also delicious. And oh, so cooking kutya from rice is useful to find out when the funeral days come. Rice kutia will turn out tasty and delicious if you choose long-grain rice. In this case, your rice kutya will not boil and stick together. The recipe here is simple: boil the rice, steam the raisins, mix with honey, nuts, and berries.

How to cook kutya: recipes

In Slavic cuisine, on holidays it is customary to treat people to a regular dish made from whole grains. The knowledge of how to prepare kutia is passed on from generation to generation. Depending on the region of residence and family traditions, this dish is prepared on the basis of wheat, rice, millet or even barley. What else is added to rich kutya and why – we suggest you find out from the publication.

Rich rice kutia

Usually at Christmas and Epiphany every Slavic family has kutia on the table. The recipe for rice with raisins is prepared faster than for wheat. The speed and simplicity of technology makes rice-based dishes increasingly popular. Festive kutia is also called rich or generous. This is because it contains various tasty and nutritious ingredients.

You will need:

· rice 400 gr.
(long grain or steamed); · poppy seed 200 gr.;
· honey – 200 gr.;
· walnut kernels – 100-150 gr.;
· raisins – 100-150 gr.;
· boiled water – 150 ml.;
· water for making rice.

Rich rice kutia: step-by-step recipe

Manufacturing:

To prepare a recipe for kutya from rice, we recommend using cereals with a low starch content. These include long grain varieties and parboiled rice. During the cooking process, the grains do not stick together into a thick porridge. This makes the dish savory and “crumbly”.

1. Wash the rice and add water in a ratio of 1:1.5.
Cook for 10 minutes on high heat, 10 minutes on low heat, without removing the lid. 2. Pour boiling water over the poppy seeds and leave to steam for an hour.
Drain the water and grind in a mortar or coffee grinder. 3. Thoroughly wash the raisins and steam with boiling water for 30 minutes.
4. We dilute thick honey with hot boiled water (water temperature no higher than 60 degrees).
5. Chop the nuts and dry them in a dry frying pan.
6. Add nuts, honey, raisins, a tablespoon of sugar (or to taste) to the cooled rice and mix. If the dish comes out too thick, dilute it with boiled water to a pleasant mixture.

Funeral rice kutia

Typically, a grain of rice symbolizes the tribute to never-ending life and resurrection. Therefore, the porridge made from it is symbolic and is served not only for holidays, but also for the rite of remembrance. The recipe for funeral kutya with rice and raisins is even easier to prepare for the ceremonial one. This dish has fewer ingredients and is also called hungry.

You will need:

· rice – 300 gr.
(or 2 glasses); · water for cooking in a ratio of 1 to 2;
· butter – 70 gr.;
· raisins – 100 gr.;
· sugar – 2 tbsp. l.

Funeral rice kutia: step-by-step recipe for making

Manufacturing:

1. Rinse the rice with running water a couple of times until the water at the drain becomes clear.
2. We use a ladle with a non-stick coating.
Cook the rice in the indicated proportion without removing the lid. We wash the cooked cereal with cool boiled water. 3. Carefully wash and steam the raisins with boiling water.
4. Prepare the dressing according to the funeral kutya recipe with rice based on sugar and butter.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, you can add a couple of drops of olive oil. 5. Add raisins extracted from water to the oil.
Keep in a hot frying pan, stirring, for 3-5 minutes. 6. Add 2.5 tablespoons of table water to the pan, stir and add sugar.
Prepare the syrup over low heat, stirring the contents evenly. 7. Add syrup with raisins to the cooked and cooled rice, knead, serve in a deep bowl.

Funeral kutia rice with spices

There are completely different recipes for kutya made from rice for funerals: with raisins, nuts, dried apricots, dried fruits. In some countries this dish is also called kanun. It usually differs in additional ingredients and spices. Since sweet rice is especially revered in India, we offer a recipe with herbs and fragrant spices.

You will need:

long grain rice – 200 gr.;
· sugar - 100 gr.;
· oil – 80 gr.;
· water – 0.4 l.;
· milk – 25 ml;
· cloves – 4 pcs;
· cinnamon – 1 stick;
· cardamom seeds – 1/2 tsp;
· almonds, pistachios 20 g each;
· raisins – 20 gr.

Funeral rice kutia with spices: recipe with photos

Manufacturing:

1. Wash the rice a couple of times and soak in cool water for 30 minutes.
Then cook the cereal in a 1:2 ratio with water. Before cooking, add a cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt. After the water boils, reduce the heat to low, do not open the lid. 2. Fry the washed raisins in a saucepan for 2-3 minutes, add the nuts and keep on medium heat, stirring evenly with a spatula, for another couple of minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the saucepan into a bowl. 3. In a saucepan, mix milk with spices and sugar, bring to a boil.
Add a piece of butter, stir everything until smooth. 4. Pour spiced milk into the rice, add nuts, knead over low heat. After 2-5 minutes, remove, the kutia is ready.

Kutya with raisins and cherries

If you are looking for a recipe for how to quickly prepare kutia for a funeral, we offer the following technology. This dish is prepared quickly and does not require the use of a huge number of different ingredients.

You will need:

· rice – 2 cups;
· water – 4 glasses;
· raisins – 150 gr.;
· canned cherries in their juice – 150 gr.;
· walnut kernels – 100 gr.;
· honey – 4 tbsp;
· oil – 50 gr.

Kutya with raisins and cherries: step-by-step recipe with photos

Manufacturing:

1. Wash the rice 3-5 times under running water.
Pour into a non-stick pan, add water, and bring to a boil over high heat. After boiling, set the heat to low and cook until tender for 15 minutes. 2. Wash the raisins, steam with boiling water, leave for a few minutes.
3. Heat the thick honey or dilute it with hot water to a watery mixture.
4. Melt the butter and mix it with honey.
5. Grind the nut kernels and dry them.
6. Place the canned cherries in a colander and let the water drain from the berries.
If frozen or fresh cherries are used, boil them for 10 minutes in sweet syrup. Cool before use. 7. Wash the boiled rice with boiled water. Add raisins, nuts, cherries to the prepared base, pour honey sauce, you can also add poppy seeds or cinnamon. Mix all the ingredients properly. Kutia is served in small bowls.

Traditional wheat kutia

This dish is often used as a treat on a ceremonial table. It’s easy to prepare, and even a new cook can cope with this task with dignity. The main thing is to brew the cereal correctly, then you will get warm kutia. We recommend writing down the traditional recipe or saving it in your bookmarks. A small cheat sheet will help you not to forget the details.

You will need:

· 400 gr.
wheat cereal for kutia (whole); · 1.2 l.
water; · 200 gr.
raisins; · 200 gr.
peeled walnut kernels; · honey to taste;
· 100 gr. poppy

Traditional wheat kutia: step-by-step recipe

Manufacturing:

1. Pour the wheat into a container and rinse under warm, running water.
2. Pour the cereal with warm boiled water overnight (that is, in the dark) so that the grains swell properly.
3. For cooking, we use a proportion of 1 to 3, where 1 is wheat, 3 is water.
4. Pour the grains into boiling water and, after boiling, cook over low heat for up to an hour, normally 40 minutes.
Not all of the water has to boil away. 5. Add 2-5 tablespoons of honey (to taste) to warm cereal.
If the honey is thick, it should be melted in a water bath beforehand or diluted with warm water. 6. Chop the nuts.
7. Steam the raisins with boiling water and leave for 10-15 minutes.
8. Steam the poppy seeds with boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain the water and grind the grains in a coffee grinder or mortar.
9. Drain the water from the raisins, dry the berries on a cardboard towel.
10. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Add a spoonful of sugar to taste. If the dish turns out thick, dilute it with boiled water.

Depending on preferences and culinary tastes, kutia is prepared with a mushy, thick or watery mixture. To achieve good thickness, dilute with boiled water in a suitable amount. The prepared kutya is left for a couple of minutes so that it infuses and the grains absorb the sweetness.