Christmas kutya. What is kutia: history, types and secrets of cooking

Christmas kutya - cooking recipes

Every year on the eve of the New Year holidays and the Nativity of Christ, it is customary to serve traditional Russian dish- kutya. But few people know about the history of this dish, its symbolism, and the difference traditional recipes preparations for three celebrations.

History of the traditional dish

The origin of the word "kutia" takes its roots from ancient Greece, (Greek Kukkia) - literally translated as boiled grain. As in Greece, in Russia the dish was originally associated with the traditional worship of the dead, and was served on the table on the eve of all religious holidays.

Among the many names of this dish, the most common are: kolivo, sochivo and kanun. Kutya is always present on the table at Christmas, Epiphany and other Orthodox holidays.

The word "sochivo" literally translates as "food". And one of the most ancient names for kuti is "kolivo" (Greek kolibo), which means the offering of grain and fruit to the spirits of ancestors. Thus, Christmas Orthodox traditions originate from ancient pagan cults.

Is there a difference between kutya and sochiv

Sochivo is one of the many names for kutya. Cooking methods include:

• sochivo - a more liquid watery porridge (from the words "juice" and "ooze");
• kolivo - dry and crumbly.

Many people believe that there is no difference in recipes between kutya, koliva and sochivo - all this is one dish, but the name kolivo is more ancient, and sochivo is modern, and it came from the name of Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve. But this is a wrong opinion, since the holy evening got its name from juicy butter cakes - sochniki. Previously, slits were made in them for the eyes, and they wondered - they "considered" the fate of a person through them.

Varieties of kutia

For each holiday, there is a separate way of preparing eve. Depending on the ingredients used, there are 3 types of dishes.

Generous kutya for the New Year

It is being prepared for the New Year's table. Dairy products and butter are added to the dish, various dried fruits and nuts are used. original recipe cooking kutya in a pumpkin will be a discovery for every housewife.

Rich or lean kutya for Christmas

It is prepared on Christmas Eve - Christmas Eve, therefore it is often called sochiv, regardless of the recipe. Such kutya is usually made from rice or millet. It is customary to bring the dish to godparents and older relatives living separately.

Hungry kutya for baptism

Porridge is prepared lean - from cereals and a sweetener. But it is not forbidden to use nuts and fruits. Lenten kolivo made from bulgur with honey is especially delicious.

You can cook the dish from any cereal (rice, buckwheat, millet, bulgur, pearl barley) with the addition of poppy seeds and a sweetener. The recipes use nut kernels, raisins and various dried fruits.

Symbolism of kutya and its ingredients

The main component of koliva is grain, which is a symbol of eternal life and rebirth. Belief in the immortality of the soul and its reincarnation is the main symbolism of the eve. Like seeds, falling into the ground and being reborn, the human spirit is reborn in a new body after burial.

The grain is able to "sleep" for a long time, saving life in itself, and then reproduce it again with the advent of spring. Eating kutya, a person symbolically becomes a particle of the endless cycle of life.

Poppy seeds or nut kernels in kutia - denote fertility. By adding these products, a person programs himself for wealth, generosity and prosperity for the whole family. That is why kolivo is often prepared at weddings and at birth or christening of a child.

Honey in sochiva symbolizes pleasure and sweet life, but not earthly, but eternal, which awaits man in the kingdom of heaven. It is believed that the benefits of the afterlife are so great and beautiful that they exceed the wildest dreams and expectations.

Beliefs and fortune-telling on Kutya

It has long been believed that the richer and more satisfying the sochivo, the more abundant the harvest and family wealth will be. Several spikelets of wheat were placed under a plate with koliv, which were then kept throughout the year as a talisman. Porridge was eaten not only by family members, it was treated to livestock and poultry. It was believed that in this way they would not get sick, and would give good offspring.

Divination for the harvest

Christmas fortune-telling on Sochi is popular in our time. The head of the family should take a spoonful of koliva and toss it up. How many grains of porridge stick to the ceiling, how many sheaves of grain are expected to be collected this year.

Fortune telling on the betrothed

Girlish fortune-telling about her betrothed: an unmarried girl scooped up the first spoonful of kutya, wrapped it in men's pants, and then hid it under her pillow. It was believed that that night she should dream of her betrothed.

Secrets of cooking delicious kutya

Previously, kolivo was prepared mainly from whole grain wheat. To make porridge tasty, you need to properly prepare its base.

Kutia base

To do this, the grain should be slightly crushed in a mortar with the addition of a small amount of water, and the tares should be removed. You can pre-soak the wheat for several hours, this will reduce the cooking time. The grains must be boiled until fully cooked and soft, then the juice will turn out excellent.

Most housewives prefer to use rice as a basis. This cooking method is easier and faster.

How to cook rice for kutya

• we wash the cereal well until the water becomes clear, without a powdery color;
• put 1 serving of rice in a saucepan and pour hot boiled water in a ratio of 1:1.5; put on the stove;
• on high heat, bring the porridge to a boil and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly;
• set the heat to medium, and cook for another 6 minutes;
• at the end, we reset the heat to the minimum, cook for another 3 minutes, do not forget to stir;
• then remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid, and leave the porridge to brew for 15 minutes.

Rice cooked in this way is very tender and crumbly. During the cooking process, no spices are used, and the taste of the dish will depend on the dressing. Rice kutya with raisins, honey and almonds is the most popular and delicious recipe cooking kutya for Christmas.

Refueling for Koliva

As a dressing, liquid melted honey or sweet uzvar is most often used. Kolivo can be flavored with milk or cream. Often cream or butter is added to porridge. sunflower oil. Also, as a sweetener, you can use diluted jam, jam or sugar syrup.

Other Ingredients

The third component of kutya is most often dried fruits, poppy seeds and nuts. You can use a variety of spices, frozen berries and fresh fruits. Mac before adding to the porridge, it is necessary to grate well until homogeneous mass, or pass through a meat grinder several times. Raisins in kutya quickly swell and lose their taste, so it is recommended to add it before serving.

Outcome

Kutia is not just a dish on the festive table, it is a combination of religious customs and traditions of the Russian people. Properly cooked kutya is a symbol of eternal life, wealth and prosperity. A lot of Christmas divination and beliefs are associated with this dish. At the family table, the ancestral spirits are revered with koliv, and they are charged life energy for the coming year.

Kutya is a traditional Christmas food served on Christmas Eve, the eve of the great Christian holiday. Christmas kutya is different, it can be prepared from wheat, rice or barley. Whatever it was at Christmas festive table- rich or modest, a dish consisting of grain porridge with poppy milk and honey has long served as its invariable decoration. Those who follow Christmas traditions know that kutya is one of the symbols of the Nativity of Christ.
On the evening of January 6, after the appearance of the first star in the sky, the grandchildren carried Christmas kutya to their grandparents, and the godchildren to their godparents. At the same time, they necessarily sang "shedrivki", in which they wished the owners health, goodness, a good harvest and prosperity.

The history of the emergence of kutya

The word "kutya" itself is translated from Greek as "boiled wheat", and this dish was connected, just like in Russia, with the cult of worship of the dead in Ancient Greece and Rome. Therefore, it turns out that Kutia got into Christian history from ancient pagan cults.

There are a lot of different names, methods of preparation and varieties of kutya. There are many names for this ritual porridge: Kolivo, Eve, Sochivo, Syt.

Kutya has always been considered obligatory dish and even an attribute of a commemoration, but also kutya is prepared on New Year's Eve (according to the old style), on Christmas Eve, on Epiphany and other Orthodox holidays.

Depending on the holiday, there are 3 types of kutya

rich kutya(lean kutya with different ingredients, which is prepared on Christmas Eve);

· generous kutia(before the New Year, a quick dish with the addition of
butter, cream or milk);

hungry kutya(on Epiphany, a dish that mainly consists
from grain base and sweetener).

The obligatory ingredients of kutya are grain, poppy and honey.

On holy evening they did not sit down at the table “until the first star”, and lunch was often combined with dinner. The main dishes on the Christmas table were kutya and uzvar. They prepared kutya - from wheat and barley - the groats were ground in a mortar so that the grains did not knead, but only peeled off their husks. They usually ate kutya with honey syrup or sugar water.

Corn symbolizes fertility, constancy and the cycle of life, that is, the actual immortality or rebirth of the soul.

Honey symbolizes the sweetness, pleasure and blessings of eternal life.

Poppy- a symbol of prosperity and fertility. As for the Christmas kutya,
then in the old days it was believed that the richer (that is, tastier and more satisfying) kutya, the better the harvest and the higher the prosperity in the family.

A Christmas feast is unthinkable without a knot. At the holy evening they cooked an uzvar from dried fruits and berries, adding sugar, honey and raisins. Compared to compote, the uzvar turned out to be thicker and sweeter. Sometimes uzvar was boiled with rice, sometimes beer or wine was added.

Kutya and uzvar were always cooked in new and beautiful pots. Each time they noticed: if the kutia “creeped out of the pot”, then a rich harvest should have been expected. Taking out a pot of porridge from the stove, the grandfather lightly fiddled with the kids by the forelock so that the chickens were crested. Before putting the kutya on the table, the owner raised the pot of porridge over his head and uttered the following words: “God forbid that the barley be awned and spiky!”
After that, he collected a little kutya in a spoon and threw it up to the ceiling. If the porridge sticks to the ceiling, then the bees will swarm.

Dinner began with uzvar, then we tried kutya. And, finally, proceeded to other dishes. On the table were bowls of pies stuffed with cabbage, peas, beans, pears, and viburnum. The pies were anointed with vegetable oil and doused with honey.
Borscht was served with fresh or salted fish, fried fish,
as well as bread with garlic - a symbol of family wealth and prosperity.

Christmas kutia

The Christmas meal begins with kutia on Christmas Eve (January 6) and ends with a spoonful of this dish, exchanging wishes and remembering deceased ancestors. On Christmas Eve, lenten kutya is prepared, because. The Advent fast continues until the holiday itself.

Traditions of cooking kutya

Since ancient times, it has been customary to cook kutya from grains of wheat, barley and pearl barley. But today, more and more often you can find kutya made from rice, although this is a departure from tradition.

Traditional kutya is cooked from wheat, which is usually first crushed in a mortar with the addition of water and separated from the chaff. After the wheat was cooked in the oven for several hours, until the moment when it should have been well boiled, become soft and acquire a slightly whitish hue.

It was also customary to serve Christmas kutya lean milk from poppy seeds, walnuts or hazelnuts, or from a mixture thereof. To prepare nut and poppy milk, you need to steam the poppy seeds and pour over the nuts with boiling water, then grind them in a mortar, scroll in a meat grinder, grind until a white liquid is released.

The traditional Christmas kutya is seasoned liquid honey or honey dressing with satiety - for it, honey must be dissolved in boiled warm (but by no means boiling!) Water. It is also customary to add a variety of dried fruits, steamed and chopped, steamed poppy seeds and nuts to kutia.

Previously, our ancestors believed that the tastier on Christmas kutya,
all the more successful coming year.

What is needed to prepare kutya?

Ingredients:- 200 grams of wheat;
- 200 grams of dried fruits (cherries, pears, dried apricots, apples, prunes and others);
- one hundred grams of roasted walnuts, raisins and poppy seeds;
- five glasses of water;
- four tablespoons of honey;
Christmas kutya - a pinch of salt;
- a tablespoon of vegetable oil.

How to cook a dish?

Wheat on kutya should be sorted out and washed. It is better to use polished
especially since closer to Christmas, you can often see wheat specially “for kutya” on store shelves.

If the wheat will be used not polished, then it can be soaked overnight. To cook porridge, pour everything with three glasses of water, pour in salt, pour in a tablespoon of vegetable oil and cook in a thick saucepan until the porridge is ready.

Pour poppy seeds with boiling water for an hour, after that, to drain the liquid, we recline it on a sieve. We grind this poppy with sugar in a coffee grinder or mortar until a white “milk” appears. Pour raisins for twenty minutes, drain the water.

We cook saturated compote from washed dried fruits. Add honey to the still warm decoction drained from the fruit. We spread the wheat in a bowl, let it cool, add poppy seeds, dried fruits, nuts and raisins chopped from compote to the porridge. Pour porridge with honey compote and mix everything. When serving, garnish with fruit.

Enjoy your meal!

Kutya for Christmas from rice

Ingredients: rice 200 g, poppy seeds 100 g, walnuts 50 g
raisins 50 g, honey 100 g, pinch of salt
boiled water 200 ml

Cooking: Poppy pour boiling water and leave for an hour. Then drain the liquid and grind the poppy seeds in a mortar. Wash the raisins and pour boiling water for half an hour. Dry the nuts and finely chop. Boil the rice in salted water, drain the liquid.
Mix rice, raisins, nuts, honey, salt to taste. Dilute with uzvar or boiled water. Serve immediately.

Enjoy your meal!

Christmas is a mysterious and magical time for the Orthodox. On this bright night, the heavens open and prayers are heard. This evening, even the food is fabulous. In many parts of the world, their own gastronomic passions are born for the Holy Evening. The British, for example, prepare a miracle cake, in Italy they bake fish and cook pasta, and in Germany they cook adits. 12 apostles - 12 dishes! And what is Christmas without wheat or rice-poppy porridge?! Be sure to cook, because since ancient times there has been a tradition: the more grains - the health and luck are stronger.

This dish has other names: sochivo, kolevo. Kutia in Greek means boiled wheat. Perhaps the word "kolevo" means crushing cereals, but it can also refer to the Old Slavonic word "kolo", which indicates traditions older than Orthodoxy, rooted in pagan times. Kolo is a circle symbolizing the infinity of life. Grains of wheat, berries - wealth and prosperity. Orthodoxy was not chosen by chance by Prince Vladimir: Orthodox prescriptions were close in spirit to our pagan ancestors, so their echoes still live in church rites.

But let's leave philosophical research and the deep symbolism of Christmas Eve aside for the time being, satisfied with the explanation that kutia is not just dinner. Therefore, it is important for every housewife to know how correctly she cooked kutya, what options for its preparation are possible, and whether her ideas about kutya violate religious canons. Let's try to find together interesting recipes conforming to Christian rules.

Basic technological principles of preparation

Day and Christmas Eve, until the rising of the Stars, requires the strictest fasting, and therefore only vegetable products should be present in the main dish.

Beans and cereals

The cereal part of the dish is its basis. As a rule, whole grains are used to prepare kutya. This rule also has a symbolic meaning: a grain that must germinate. It is clear that nothing grows from crushed grain.

In different regions where Orthodoxy is considered the main religion, wheat, barley, millet, and lentils are used. Now in any supermarket you can buy grain that has passed the primary stage of processing, without a shell. It is still believed that real kutya should be prepared from whole grains of wheat.

Although, two or three centuries ago, wheat was considered a luxury in poor families, and was available only to the nobility. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with using other cereals for making kutya.

The main thing here, from the point of view of religious philosophy, is the seed, which symbolizes goodness, and it, having become food, sprouts in every person. Therefore, feel free to choose the cereal that you like. By the way, any porridge is very useful.

The cereal part of kutia can have both a viscous and crumbly consistency. But, already by tradition, kutya is cooked more in a crumbly form. About the features of cooking each type of cereal, the ratio of cereals and water is described in more detail in the recipes - these rules should not be forgotten.

Poppy and nuts

Any nuts contain oils, therefore, to prepare kutya, they are dried and heated to facilitate the production of oils - vegetable fat or "milk", without which any cereal looks too bland.

In terms of rules healthy eating, walnut and poppy "milk" provide normal metabolic process. In a sacred sense, nuts are a symbol of health and longevity.

As you can see, modern medicine and the Orthodox view, and even pagan customs, do not contradict each other in this matter.

Use the nuts that the family likes best. Do not forget to lightly fry the kernels and chop.

Fruits and honey

The knots that were used in the old recipes for kutya are not dried compote, but rather a fragrant infusion, which was diluted with honey. Honey and fruits for cooking kutya also have a sacred meaning - the promise of enjoyment in eternal life, to put it very briefly.

The fruit and berry component of kutia does not have to consist of dried fruits. It should be taken into account that the technology of cooking a dish with a long history differs significantly from the possibilities of processing products in modern cooking.

The Orthodox Church does not find anything reprehensible in the development of technology. Therefore, use those sweet stocks that are prepared for this purpose in the summer. Of course, adding honey or any other fruits available will not spoil the taste of kutya.

The only ban is products of animal origin. During the last week of Advent, the church does not even bless the consumption of fish. Everything else is allowed.

1. Wheat kutia - a classic recipe

The proposed recipe is an old one, and therefore it is presented in a detailed step-by-step version, since the basis of kutya is a cereal part and a fruit-honey mixture, in any of the recipes invented by modern housewives.

Ingredients:

• Honey 120 gr.
• Dried cherries 100 gr.
• Raisin dark 80 gr.
• Confectionery poppy 90 gr.
• Water: 400 ml. - for cereals and 500 ml. - for knot
• Wheat 150 gr.
• Salt - to taste
• Walnuts(kernels) 50 gr.

How to cook wheat kutya:

1. Whole grains of peeled wheat must be sorted out and washed. Prepare 400 ml for the indicated amount of cereal. steep boil. Steam the grain with boiling water for an hour, wrapping the container.
2. Drain the water. Now, in order for the wheat to become soft and absorb the aroma of honey and fruits during cooking, it must be ground in a mortar. In the old days, ancestors used makitra for this - a clay pot with a rough inner surface and a wooden pestle. Choose the right utensils for this purpose from the available kitchen arsenal. Grain should not be crushed, namely crushed.
3. Prepare suitable cooking utensils. The best option- cast iron container with a lid. It is important that the container cools down slowly, and the kutya languishes in the oven.
4. Wash dried fruits. Put in a saucepan, pour cold water, cook covered, 5-10 minutes from the moment of boiling. Drain, add honey, and fill it with prepared wheat. It is better to add berries to kutya later, when the wheat is boiled in a fruit infusion, so that they do not boil too much.
5. Poppy also steam with boiling water and drain the water, add a spoonful of honey, grind in a mortar. Add grated poppy seeds to crumbly porridge, stir.
6. Transfer kutya to a dish, garnish with berries, chopped nuts.

Advice!

Honey can be added to fruit water while boiling. But when heated above 40 0 ​​C, it loses its useful properties.

Therefore, given that in the old days, the ancestors used honey, instead of sugar, as the cheapest and most affordable natural sweetener, put honey in a container with boiled dried fruits, when they have cooled to the optimum temperature, mix well, and then add the sweetened fruits to the cereal part, once again mix well.

Sometimes kutya was prepared from individual varieties of barley - pearl barley. The principle of preparing kutya from pearl barley is the same as in the case of wheat. Just keep in mind that barley grains are harder, and therefore it will take about twice as much time to soak or steam barley. Kutya can also be prepared in a faster way.

Ingredients:

• Pearl barley 300 gr.
• Honey 120 gr.
• Roasted peanuts 70 gr.
• Nuclei walnuts 80 gr.
• Poppy 90 gr.
• Red large raisins 150 gr.
• Cahors 100 ml.
• Cinnamon, star anise - to taste

Cooking method:

1. Soak the washed barley in boiling water for a couple of hours, or soak overnight in cold water. Then cook the prepared cereal until half cooked over low heat. The ratio of water and pearl barley is 2.5: 1.
2. Add washed raisins to almost ready cereals. Cover the pan with a lid, cook porridge with raisins for 5-7 minutes. Then remove the saucepan from the heat. Cover with a thick and warm cloth for forty minutes. The porridge should be crumbly.
3. Fry the kernels of nuts in a dry, heated frying pan and chop with a blender.
4. Pour the poppy seeds with boiling water, covering it 1 cm above the level. Put on the stove and heat over low heat until the water evaporates. But the poppy should remain moist and swollen.
5. Grind it in a mortar until juice appears. Add half of honey, chopped nuts.
6. Heat Cahors to 40 0 ​​C, add the remaining honey, stir until dissolved, season with spices to taste. Add to ground nuts and poppy seeds. Stir the mass again and add to the kutia.
7. After 15-20 minutes, serve the dish.

Recently old recipes began to be forgotten, and housewives prefer to cook meals on hastily, excluding the most time-consuming preparatory processes at home. Steamed rice belongs to the category of cereals that do not require long cooking. The taste of rice in terms of compatibility with many other ingredients can be considered universal.

Ingredients:

• Steamed long rice 200 gr.
• Raisins, dried apricots, prunes (in assortment) 300 gr.
• Honey 100 gr.
• Orange 1 pc.
• Poppy 40 gr.

Cooking method:

1. Boil the prepared rice until fluffy.
2. Separately steam poppy seeds and washed dried fruits. large berries cut into cubes. Grind poppy seeds with honey, adding juice and orange zest.
3. Combine all the prepared parts of the dish by adding them to the boiled rice. Stir and serve chilled.

4. Millet kutya with almond milk

Much less often than wheat and barley, millet was also used for cooking, kutya, because for a long time wheat porridge and flour were considered a luxury available only to spite the nobility. By the way, millet, according to the content of useful microelements and vitamins, medicinal properties superior to wheat.

For example, unlike wheat groats, millet or millet normalizes the level of carbohydrates and "bad" cholesterol in the body, improves immunity. So, millet kutya is not only tasty, but also healthy food on Christmas Eve, before a hearty and plentiful festive feast.

Ingredients:

• Almond 250 gr.
• Millet 200 gr.
• Oranges large 2 pcs.
• Pumpkin 200 gr.
• Cinnamon 1 gr.
• Raisins 180 gr.
• Sugar or honey - to taste

Cooking method:

1. From peeled pumpkin pulp and orange juice prepare puree, with the addition of honey or sugar. Let it go in a saucepan so that small pieces of grated pumpkin become soft.
2. Rinse the millet thoroughly in running water, put in a saucepan and pour boiling water twice, changing the water immediately after cooling.
3. After the “bath”, throw the millet through a sieve, let the water drain and add it to the fruit puree. It is not necessary to add water. Immediately put the washed raisins. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer over low heat. You can cook porridge in a ceramic pot in the oven, at 100 0 C, for 20 minutes.
4. Leave part of the almonds to decorate the dish, and chop the rest with a meat grinder or blender.
5. When the porridge has absorbed almost all the juice, add the grated orange zest and cinnamon, almond crumbs. Remove the porridge from the heat, wrap it well so that it absorbs the aromas of spices before cooling.

Advice!

You need to salt even sweet porridge, but only at the end of cooking, when the grains are already soft. The addition of salt in sweet dishes enhances the contrast, emphasizing the sweetness. In addition, salt, as you know, draws out moisture, which will give cereal dishes a crumbly texture.

5. Sochivo (kutya) from lentils and rice

In many South Slavic languages, the word "lentil" has a common name - sochivo, and it was she who was often used to prepare a ritual dinner on Christmas Eve.

Ingredients:

• Liquid honey 120 gr.
• Lemon ½ pc.
• Lentil yellow 250 gr.
• Peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds 220 gr.
• Ginger root and cloves - to taste
• Olive oil 30 ml
• Raisins 200 gr.
• Dried apricots 150 gr.
• Rice long 150 gr.
• Candied fruits 250 gr.

Cooking method:

1. Wash rice and lentils, soak in cold water. For rice, the soaking time is 2 hours, and for lentils, hold longer.
2. Boil the lentils by putting in cold water: 0.5 liters of water per 250 grams of cereal. Cooking time - 20 minutes. 5 minutes before the end of cooking, add olive oil, grated fresh ginger root, ground cloves. Drain the cooked beans through a colander.
3. Cook the rice separately. Put it in cold water too: the volume of liquid is 2 times larger than the cereal. After cooking, drain the water, rinse the rice with cold water.
4. Steam dried fruits in boiling water. Cut dried apricots into strips. Cut large candied fruits into cubes.
5. Combine rice, lentils and dried fruit. Add fresh juice to honey lemon peel. If the honey is too thick, add boiled cold water. Stir and pour the sweet liquid into a dish.
6. Pass the roasted nuts through a meat grinder. Connect them to the total mass.
7. Thoroughly mix the juice and place tightly in a round container with a flat bottom. Then invert the container onto a plate. You can use a cooking ring to shape the dish. Decorate the surface with candied fruits, nuts, dried fruits.

There is an opinion that salt in the preparation of kutya should not be used at all. But with it, any food tastes better, as mentioned above.

6. Rice kutya in a hurry recipe with jam

For those who are very busy preparing a Christmas dinner, but do not want to break the rite, there is a very simple kutya recipe.

Ingredients:

• Rice 1.5 cups
• Jam (any) 1 cup
• Walnuts 10 pcs.
• Raisins as desired

Cooking method:

1. Boil the washed rice until cooked, as described in the recipes above, rinse, discard through a colander. Rice can be used if desired. different varieties, for example: add Devzira pink rice and wild black rice to white grains. This combination will look very nice in ready dish. Just take into account the difference in cooking time. Black and pink rice should be cooked longer and be sure to soak in cold water, preferably overnight.
2. Pour the jam syrup over the cooked rice and garnish with berries.

Kutya is served cold and not heated. Depending on the effort and diligence, this dish can be very satisfying and tasty. It is served with fresh and lean pancakes, cookies, compote.

In some regions of Ukraine, the custom is preserved to serve at the Lenten table on Christmas Eve 12 meatless dishes, but kutia, no matter what it is made of, is placed in the center of the table, on a straw bed (you can stock up on a stylish napkin in advance). Christmas dinner begins with kutya. Merry Christmas!

Kutya is a traditional main christmas dish, which is prepared from boiled wheat, adding honey and poppy seeds. Kutya symbolizes sacrifice to God, because wheat with honey is a sacred part of the holy supper. Poppy symbolizes martyrdom, innocently shed blood. Honey is a symbol of God's word and purity.

Kutia is the main dish on the table, from which it is customary to start a meal. The pot with kutya must be carried by the hostess. The history, symbolism of kutya and its types - read in our material.

History of Kutia

The origin of the word "kutia" originates from ancient Greece and literally translates as "boiled grain". In Greece and Ukraine, the dish was originally associated with the traditional worship of the deceased, and was served on the table on the eve of all religious holidays. Kutia was always present on the table at Christmas, Epiphany and other Orthodox holidays.

Symbolism of kutya

The main component of kutya is grain, which is a symbol of eternal life and rebirth, belief in the immortality of the soul and its reincarnation. Like a seed that falls into the ground and is reborn, so the spirit of a person is reborn in a new body after burial. The grain is able to "sleep" for a long time, retaining life in itself, and then revive it again with the advent of spring.

What is kutya: history and its types

By eating kutya, a person becomes part of the endless cycle of life. Sprouted grains are often added to kutya, which are a symbol of eternal life. Poppy seeds or kernels of nuts in kutia - mean fertility. By adding these products, a person programs himself for wealth, generosity and abundance for the whole family. It is because of this that kutya is often prepared at weddings and at the birth or christening of children. Honey in sochiva symbolizes pleasure and sweet life, but not earthly, but eternal, which awaits a person in the Kingdom of Heaven. It is said that the benefits of the afterlife are so great and wonderful that they surpass the wildest dreams and expectations.

Types of kutya

Each holiday has its own way of cooking. Kutya can be semi-liquid or crumbly, it all depends on the amount of liquid. There are three types of cooking kutya:

- rich kutya (lean kutya with different ingredients, which is prepared on Christmas Eve);

- generous kutya (before the New Year, a quick dish with the addition of butter, cream or milk);

- hungry kutia (on Epiphany, the dish mainly consists of a grain base and a sweetener).

Secrets of cooking kutya

Kutya is cooked from a variety of cereals and grains: wheat, pearl barley, barley, rice, oats and even buckwheat. Wheat or other whole grain crushed in a mortar with the addition of water. After that, it must be cooked in the oven. Wheat and cereals should be soaked to reduce cooking time. They should be well boiled and become soft.

Among the Slavic peoples who profess Orthodoxy, on the days of commemoration of the dead and on Christmas Eve, it is customary to cook crumbly porridge. Such a ritual dish is called kutya. Every housewife can make it, since porridge has a very simple cooking technology. The basis is cereals (wheat, oats, pearl barley or rice), honey, dried fruits, poppy seeds and other products can be used as additives. A variety of recipes will help you choose a ritual dish according to the occasion and taste.

What is kutya

A memorial or Christmas table suggests the presence of several traditional dishes. Kutya is a porridge that can be prepared from wheat, oats, barley or rice. Traditionally, honey and raisins are added to the dish. Grains are a symbol of Sunday, and sweet additives are the spiritual blessings of eternal life. They cook porridge not only for funeral dinners, but also for Christmas, Epiphany, New Year.

At the same time, on Christmas Eve it is supposed to eat a poor kutya containing only cereals, honey, raisins and other dried fruits. This tradition is explained by the fact that the day before Christmas is included in the fasting period. On New Year's Eve, it is allowed to cook rich kutya. The dish got its name because it can be diversified by adding fats of animal origin: cream, milk, butter.

How to cook

The dish belongs to the ritual, so its preparation is accompanied by a number of rules. The following conditions are recommended:

1. Cereal grains must be whole, not boiled soft.
2. In order for the coming year to be plentiful, it is recommended to add pieces of marmalade, candied fruits, cream, nuts, jam to the porridge.
3. If you want to get a more tender kutia, to speed up the cooking time, you can deviate from the tradition by cooking it from rice grains.
4. Groats for such porridge should be thoroughly washed and soaked in water for several hours. When using rice, the process can be shortened.
5. To get a semi-liquid product, sugar or honey must first be dissolved in water or made into a bowl, then pour the cereal with syrup.
6. Ritual porridge should not only saturate the body with complex carbohydrates and other nutrients, have pleasant taste, but also look beautiful, so when serving, the dish is sprinkled with nuts, dried fruits, candied fruits.
7. According to tradition, the ritual product must be consecrated. If it is not possible to do this in the church, sprinkle the porridge with holy water.

Kutya recipe

By tradition, the basis of the dish is wheat, but it is allowed to use other types of cereals (rice, oats, pearl barley). You can diversify the product by adding fruits, prunes, raisins, dried apricots, nuts. In fasting, to make porridge sweet, it is recommended to put honey, on other days you can sprinkle with sugar. As a dressing for lean kutya, nut or poppy milk is used, it is allowed to pour rich cream, jam, syrup.

memorial

• Time: 2 hours.
• Calorie content of the dish: 162 kcal.
• Purpose: memorial table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Kutya at the wake is traditional dish. Cooking it will not be difficult, since the process is the preparation of ingredients, boiling cereals and mixing the base with additives. This porridge is very tasty and satisfying. To increase the cooking speed, barley is recommended to be replaced with long-grain rice. Serve the product chilled, you can with bread.

Ingredients:

• prunes - 100 g;
• granulated sugar- taste;
• whole pearl barley - 0.2 kg;
• vegetable oil - 30 ml;
• white raisins - 50 g;
• poppy - 100 g;
• honey - to taste;
• nuts (almonds) - 50 g.

Cooking method:

1. Pearl barley rinse thoroughly. Pour the grains with clean cold water and leave overnight to soak. Rinse the prepared barley again, transfer to a saucepan, pour in vegetable oil.
2. Add to the cereal 2 tbsp. water, salt, cook for about 1 hour until soft. During cooking, foam should be removed from the porridge.
3. Rinse nuts and dried fruits well. Distribute raisins, poppy seeds and prunes in separate containers, pour boiling water over, leave to soak for 60 minutes. Peel the skin off the almonds. To do this, soak the nuts for 10 minutes. Place the prepared product in a pan without oil, dry a little.
4. Drain the water from the poppy seeds, crush the seeds using a mortar. Remove the liquid from the containers with dried fruits, put the raisins and prunes on paper towels, pat dry. Cut the prepared ingredients into small strips.
5. Put dried fruits, almonds and poppy seeds to barley kutya, add honey and sugar. Mix all ingredients well. Kutya should be served chilled.

Funeral with raisins in a slow cooker

• Time: 2 hours.
• Servings: 5-6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 162 kcal.
• Purpose: on the memorial table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

The process of preparing a funeral kutia in a slow cooker will not cause difficulties even for a novice hostess. When using this kitchen appliance, it is not necessary to soak the wheat, you only need to rinse it thoroughly. In a slow cooker, the grains will steam well in the time allotted for cooking. The porridge will turn out crumbly, satisfying and tasty. You can decorate it with poppy seeds, nuts and small sweets.

Ingredients:

• honey - 500 g;
• wheat grains - 0.5 kg;
• raisins - 0.2 kg;
• water - 2 l;
• walnuts - 100 g;
• poppy - 100 g.

Cooking method:

1. Wheat must be carefully sorted out. Rinse the beans under cool running water. Place the cereal in the multicooker bowl. Pour the grains with water, previously cleaned by the filter.
2. Set the “Cooking” mode on the kitchen appliance, mark half an hour on the timer. After the beep, leave the porridge on the "Heating" option for another 60 minutes until the product becomes soft. Place the finished wheat in a sieve and rinse again under cold running water.
3. Arrange raisins and poppy seeds in separate deep containers, soak in boiling water for 60 minutes. Chop nuts.
4. Wheat porridge place in a deep bowl. Place nuts and raisins on top.
5. Poppy seeds should be mixed with half of the indicated amount of honey, grind in a blender for 2 minutes. Add the resulting mass to the porridge.
6. Pour the remaining honey, mix all the ingredients well. Add some warm water so that the porridge acquires a sticky consistency. Served memorial kutya chilled.

Christmas

• Time: 2-3 hours.
• Servings: 3-4 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 180 kcal.
• Purpose: Lenten table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Christmas kutia is based on wheat, therefore, to obtain a soft porridge, grains must first be soaked for several hours. Lean Recipe involves the addition of poppy seeds, raisins and nuts. If you want to make a rich Christmas kutya, you can add butter or milk. When serving on a festive table, decorate the dish with colorful candied fruits, pieces of marmalade and small candies.

Ingredients:

• honey - 80 g;
• salt - 1 pinch;
• walnuts - 0.1 kg;
• vegetable oil - 30 ml;
• poppy - 125 g;
• dried fruits - 0.2 kg;
• wheat - 1 tbsp.;
• raisins - 0.1 kg;
• water - 2 l.

Cooking method:

1. Wheat must be sorted and washed well, then soaked for a couple of hours. Place the prepared grains in a cauldron, salt, fill with water. Add to dish vegetable oil. Cooking porridge takes about 2 hours.
2. Boil the water, soak the poppy seeds in it for about 60 minutes. Throw the grains on a sieve, let the liquid drain. Grind the poppy with a blender until white.
3. Soak the raisins in boiling water for 20 minutes. Drain the water, dry the berries, spreading them on a napkin.
4. Rinse any dried fruits thoroughly, place in a saucepan, add 400 ml of water. Put the dishes on a small fire. When the water boils, cook the uzvar for about 10 minutes. Cool the mass to a warm temperature. Drain the liquid into a separate container, add honey, stir until the sweetness is dissolved.
5. Place the finished wheat inside a deep bowl, wait for it to cool. Nuts must be chopped, fried a little, added to kutya.
6. Mix chopped boiled dried fruits, mashed poppy seeds with porridge.
7. Transfer kutya with additives to a bowl with honey. Mix all ingredients well. When serving, decorate the dish with candied fruits and nuts.

Rice with raisins and nuts

• Time: 2.5 hours.
• Servings: 3-4 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 165 kcal.
• Purpose: Lenten table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Rice kutya is easy and quick to prepare. From long-grain cereals comes out crumbly, tender and nutritious porridge. Rice cooks well, so it does not need to be soaked before cooking. Adding nuts to kutia different kind and raisins will help make the dish fragrant and tasty. For filling porridge, use liquid honey or sugar syrup.

Ingredients:

• liquid honey - 100 g;
• poppy - 170 g;
• almonds - 75 g;
• hazelnuts - 75 g;
• raisins - 170 g;
• long-grain rice groats - 0.3 kg;
• walnuts - 75 g.

Cooking method:

1. At the first stage, you need to get a crumbly porridge. To do this, rinse the rice thoroughly and boil according to the instructions on the package until soft.
2. Pour the walnuts into a dry frying pan, fry a little. Remove the peel from the fruit, break it into several pieces.
3. Poppy fill with boiling water, leave to soak for 30 minutes. Then drain the water, pass the grains through a meat grinder twice (you can use a blender).
4. Steam the raisins with boiling water for half an hour, drain the water, dry the fruits on paper towels.
5. Connect rice porridge with nuts, poppy. Add raisins to the dish. Dissolve honey in a glass of warm water, pour the resulting kutya dressing. Mix all the ingredients, put the dish on a deep plate. Use nuts for decoration.

With barley raisins

• Time: 1.5 hours.
• Servings: 3-4 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 162 kcal.
• Purpose: in the post.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Pearl barley has many useful properties, while it does not need to be soaked for a long time, which will reduce the cooking time of kutya. You can adjust the required amount of sugar according to your taste so that the dish does not turn out too cloying. Be sure to soak the raisins in boiling water to make them soft and juicy. When serving, garnish the porridge with slices of apple, cherry or pear.

Ingredients:

• walnuts - 1/3 tbsp.;
• granulated sugar - 30 g;
• raisins - 1/3 tbsp.;
• pearl barley - 1 tbsp.;
• poppy - 1/3 st.;
• honey - 30 g.

Cooking method:

1. Take required amount barley, rinse, soak in boiling water for 10 minutes. Put the pot with cereals on the fire, cook until the grains become soft.
2. Rinse, steam raisins with hot water. Leave it on for 25 minutes. Grind the poppy with a coffee grinder.
3. Place the cooked barley in a deep plate, add honey and sugar to the porridge. Mix the dish until the sweet ingredients are completely dissolved.
4. Crush the nuts using a rolling pin. Drain water from raisins, squeeze. Add nuts, poppy seeds and dried berries, stir.

• Time: 2.5 hours.
• Servings: 3-4 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 175 kcal.
• Purpose: for Christmas, New Year's table.
• Cuisine: Russian.
• Difficulty: easy.

Rich kutya is allowed to be served on the festive table on days that are not included in the fasting period. In such a dish, in addition to the components specified in the recipe, you can add butter, milk and cream. Wheat grains are allowed to be replaced with long-grain rice. To make the dish look beautiful, when serving it, you can sprinkle it with chopped nuts, sweets, candied fruits, pieces of marmalade.

Ingredients:

• prunes - 70 g;
• raisins - 150 g;
• honey - 100 g;
• dried apricots - 100 g;
• sugar - 50 g;
• poppy - 120 g;
• wheat - 0.2 kg.

Cooking method:

1. Rinse the wheat using a stream of cold water. Put inside the multicooker bowl. Set the device to the “Porridge” mode for 40 minutes. After the beep, put the kutya in a separate container.
2. Place dried apricots and prunes inside the multicooker, pour in 0.3 liters of water. It is required to cook the uzvar by setting the "Soup" mode, 20 minutes.
3. Strain the prepared liquid, set aside the fruit. Add honey to the bowl.
4. Raisins must be sorted out, washed well, steamed with boiling water and allowed to stand for 15 minutes.
5. Fill the poppy with water so that the liquid completely covers the grains, put on fire. Boil for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the poppy is ready, drain the liquid through a sieve, rinse the grains with cold water, grind with a blender with sugar.
6. Cut boiled dried apricots and prunes into small pieces. Add dried fruits and poppy seeds to kutia, fill with knots.

Cooking kutya is easy, but the ritual dish must comply with certain canons, turn out tasty and beautiful. To do it according to the rules, follow these recommendations:

1. Kutia should turn out crumbly, so choose polished long-grain rice for its preparation.
2. When cooking cereals, pour a little less liquid than the recipe calls for. Take a sample while cooking. If the center of the grain looks raw, add a small amount of water.
3. To give juiciness and softness to raisins, the berries must be soaked using boiling water.
4. Cooking kutya requires the use of liquid honey. If yours is sugared, melt the sweetness in a water bath.
5. To avoid burning cereals, it is recommended to use dishes with a thick bottom for cooking.
6. Kutia is not intended for long-term storage, as it contains honey. The product of beekeeping has the ability to ferment. For this reason, it is not recommended to put fresh, unprocessed fruits, they are better used for decoration when serving.

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