Since ancient times, at Russian funerals, the main dish on the table was kutia. The name is borrowed from the ancient Greek language and literally translates as “beans”.
Kutia is a porridge made from whole grain wheat, rice or other cereals. The Eastern Slavs loved to add bee honey, berries or hazelnuts to funeral porridge. They paid attention to the process of preparing kutia - they tried to make the dish as tasty as possible, because kutia was not intended for living people who were present at the wake, but for the deceased. It was a sacrifice in his honor. People firmly believed that good and satisfying food should be in abundance even in heaven.
How kutya was served at the funeral table
Such a dish was placed in a large plate and placed in the center so that each of the guests could taste and remember the good memory of the deceased. Traditionally, kutya was served with cold appetizers, such as dried fish, kulebyaka, herring and more. At the funeral it was possible to taste meat dishes. But all alcohol was prohibited so as not to desecrate the honor of the deceased. The traditional drink on such days was jelly.
Funeral kutia made from rice with raisins
The dish is somewhat reminiscent of ordinary pilaf, but the preparation scheme is somewhat different. It is advisable not to add sugar to kutya, but rather use natural honey.
Ingredients:
- 700 gr. rice;
- 200 gr. raisins;
- 60 gr. bee honey;
- 80 gr. butter;
- a couple of pinches of cinnamon;
- salt - to taste.
Preparation:
- Soak the raisins in cool water for half an hour and then rinse thoroughly.
- Do the same with rice. Boil it with salt.
- Lightly dry the raisins in the microwave.
- In a deep bowl, combine soft butter and honey. Add cinnamon and add raisins. Mix everything well and add to warm rice.
Kutya for a funeral with prunes and dried apricots
An equally tasty way to prepare kutia is with the addition of dried fruits, namely prunes and dried apricots. This kutia looks beautiful.
Cooking time - 1 hour 30 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 650 gr. white rice;
- 100 gr. prunes;
- 100 gr. dried apricots;
- 70 gr. honey;
- 100 ml linseed oil;
- vanillin;
- salt - to taste.
Preparation:
- Place dried apricots and prunes in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let stand for 30 minutes.
- Rinse the rice thoroughly and boil, adding salt to the water first.
- Heat linseed oil in a frying pan and add dried fruits. Lightly fry them.
- When the rice is cooked, cool it a little and add honey and vanillin. Then add dried apricots and prunes. Mix everything thoroughly until smooth.
- Place the finished kutya in the refrigerator to let it steep.
Wheat kutia for a funeral
This kutia recipe will allow you to directly come into contact with the traditions of your ancestors. Cook only with whole wheat grains. We recommend pre-soaking them in cold water overnight.
Cooking time - 1 hour 20 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 400 gr. prepared wheat grains;
- 150 gr. hazelnuts;
- 100 gr. honey;
- 100 gr. raisins;
- 90 gr. butter;
- salt - to taste.
Preparation:
- Soften the butter at room temperature.
- Pour boiling water over the raisins and keep in water for 20 minutes.
- Boil wheat grains in salted water. When the grains have cooled, add butter and honey.
- Cut the hazelnuts with a knife and combine with raisins and add to the kutia.
- Stir everything until smooth and let the dish stand for a while in a cool place.
Funeral kutia made from pearl barley and sesame
Pearl barley is a healthy cereal. It contains a lot of vitamin D, which strengthens the central nervous system.
Cooking time - 1 hour 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
- 500 gr. barley;
- 100 gr. butter;
- 100 gr. honey;
- 40 gr. sesame;
- salt - to taste.
Preparation:
- Pour barley with water for 20 minutes, then rinse well and boil. Add salt.
- Mix honey with butter and add to barley.
- Then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Mix everything thoroughly.
Kutia, or “kutia” is a traditional dish of the Orthodox funeral meal. Ingredients and individual features of recipes can vary quite significantly from region to region; different variations of kutya have a lot in common. In most cases, it is a mixture of boiled cereals (wheat, barley, rice, etc.), sweetened with honey, fruits (apples are usually used), dried fruits (prunes, raisins, dried apricots) and nuts. Kutya is often confused with its peculiar “twin brother” - the so-called “koliv”. The confusion occurs due to the fact that from a culinary point of view, “kutya” and “kolivo” are practically the same dish. The difference here is purely symbolic, but no less important: kutia is eaten for funerals, and kolivo - for Lent.
Traditional 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 remembered 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 always put at the forefront. Through the prism of death and loss, commemorations “remind” the truly important topics that every true Orthodox believer lives and breathes. Kutya here is one of the key symbolic nodes and tools of this “reminder”.
Symbols of Kutya
The symbolism of Kutya is built around the central theme of not only Orthodoxy, but of Christianity as a whole - 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 many cultures, including Christians, as a symbol of the return of life. The grain is an indication that, even though the earthly journey of the deceased is over, a new, true life awaits him in heaven. Honey and sweeteners here play the role of hinting at the sweetness of heavenly blessings.
The spirit of Orthodox conciliarity also connects with kutia the tradition of bringing it (along with other products) to church. There the kutya is left on a special memorial 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. It literally means “boiled wheat.” However, kutya could no longer be attributed to the daily diet of the ancient Greek and ordinary dishes of local cuisine. It was the ritual food of local pagan cults and had a very definite sacred meaning: by eating kutya, the believer comprehended the interconnection and mutual transition of life and death, parts of the eternal cycle of existence. The key symbol 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 ancient version of kutia only during funerals, but also for weddings and at the birth of children. During late antiquity, kolibo became an obligatory element of funeral gifts.
Funeral kutia recipes
Traditional rice kutia- perhaps the most common, simple and “modernized” recipe for an ancient funeral dish. To prepare it you will need:
- ½ cup long grain rice;
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey;
- crushed almonds and finely chopped dried apricots.
How to cook:
- Take half a glass of long grain rice, preferably pre-steamed. Rice should be washed in running water to remove excess starch and gluten - otherwise, your kutia may no longer be “crumbly” and risks becoming rice porridge from kindergarten.
- Place the rice over medium heat in a saucepan filled with cold water. The water should cover the rice by half a finger.
- After the water boils, turn down the heat to low and allow the water to boil.
- At this time, rinse the raisins in running water, then pour boiling water over them for a few 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. You need to make sure that the honey “disperses” well 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” on wheat- a more ancient and traditional recipe for kutia. To prepare 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:
- Place wheat grains that have been pre-soaked overnight 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 cooking, 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 few minutes, then drain the hot water and dry the raisins.
- Steam poppy seeds. To do 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 swollen with water and cooled completely, it will need to be rubbed using a coffee grinder - or in a mortar and pestle.
- Add honey to boiled wheat. You need to make sure that the honey “disperses” well 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 is a ritual funeral porridge, which is prepared for all Orthodox holidays, as well as for funerals, 9 days and 40 days. Preparing this dish is not difficult, but it is deeply symbolic, so you must take into account that all the ingredients are put into this dish for a reason, but with intent.
For example, funeral kutia is prepared from cereals because grain is a symbol of resurrection, eternal life. That is why kutya can only be prepared from whole grains; it is not just porridge. Kutya, the recipe for which you will find on our website, is necessarily traditional. In fact, kutia is prepared from a variety of cereals - it depends on the area and on the traditions of preparing funeral porridge, but in order to cook kutia, you can prepare a buckwheat base, rice, oatmeal, wheat, pearl barley. The most important thing is that the kutia is made from whole grains, not crushed grains.
- 1. If you want to know how to prepare kutya for a funeral, then you should know that the dish is always sweet, made with honey, always with raisins, poppy seeds, nuts or other candied and dried fruits. Properly prepared kutia is always cooked with uzvar - dried fruit compote.
- 2. The funeral kutya must be consecrated; if it was not possible to go to church and receive consecration from a clergyman, you must do it yourself, sprinkling it with holy water.
- 3. To prepare kutya, utensils with thick walls are always used, ideally a cast iron pot or cauldron, or a ceramic saucepan.
- 4. Any funeral kutia, the recipe for which you will find in this article, is served cooled.
- 5. Since kutia at a funeral is a ritual porridge, great importance is attached to the decoration. This dish definitely needs to be decorated - you can use candied fruits, nuts, poppy seeds, sometimes marmalade or candies.
- 6. Any kutia is a funeral one - even the one served on the bright holiday of Christmas.
- 7. Before eating kutya, you need to read a prayer.
- 8. Kutya is not prepared in large quantities, since honey tends to ferment if the kutia sits for a long time. In addition, kutya is not thrown away - it must be eaten, remembering the departed, until it runs out.
In order to prepare funeral kutya, you will need the following products:
- Rice - half a glass;
- Water – two glasses;
- Dried apricots, poppy seeds, prunes, various candied fruits, raisins - to taste, usually 50-100 grams of each ingredient;
- Honey – 3 tablespoons;
- Nuts – usually walnuts or almonds – 60 grams.
Rice needs to be washed thoroughly, then boil it in the specified amount of water.
Each of the sweet ingredients is soaked in boiling water for an hour. As for nuts, only almonds are soaked for 15 minutes. After this soaking, it is washed, and then the skin is removed from it very easily. If the walnut is a walnut, then it should only be lightly heated in a frying pan. The poppy seeds need to be placed on a fine sieve so that the water drains from it, and then added to a mortar or blender and grind so that white milk appears.
After this, mix the porridge with honey, as well as poppy seeds, some nuts and candied fruits or dried fruits. We decorate everything the way you like.
Rice kutia
Kutia made from rice cooks faster than kutia made from other cereals, with the exception of buckwheat. But buckwheat kutia is not prepared very often, and that is why rice kutia can be found most often.
Rice kutia is served cold, and to prepare it you will need to take the following products:
Rice – one glass of rice;
Dried fruits (you can take a mixture - dried apricots, prunes, raisins) - all in the amount of 200 grams;
Peeled walnuts – 100 grams;
Honey – 3 tablespoons of liquid honey;
First you need to wash the rice thoroughly, until the water is clear, at least 7 times. After this, you need to take a pan with thick walls, bring everything to a boil, adding salt, add rice and stir. Everything is cooked until done. Next, you need to rinse the rice with cold boiled water, placing it on a sieve - this way it will not stick together, and each grain of kutya will be separate. Now take a frying pan without oil, and lightly dry the walnuts, which you have already previously peeled, in it. Then you need to rinse all the dried fruits, pour them on fire, and then boil for 5 minutes. The water must be drained and the dried fruits cut into equal cubes the size of a medium raisin to make them convenient to eat.
The rice, which should have cooled by this time, must be mixed with dried fruits and nuts, and seasoned with liquid honey. Kutya is then placed in a heap on a plate and decorated with the remaining dried fruits and pieces of nuts at your discretion.
Kutya for the wake
Kutya for funerals is prepared from whole grains, and honey, poppy seeds, and nuts are also added there. Here is a recipe for funeral kutya made from wheat, but you can cook the same thing, but only from rice or pearl barley, the difference will be in the cooking time.
So, to prepare funeral kutia you will need the following products:
Wheat – 1 cup;
Raisins – 100 grams;
Walnuts – 100 grams;
Honey - about three tablespoons of liquid honey, kutia must be sweet;
Poppy grains – 50 – 100 grams.
In order to prepare kutya, first soak the washed wheat overnight in a large amount of water. After you have done this, you just need to take the wheat and rinse it thoroughly, and then add water, which should be three times more than the cereal, now place a thick-walled pan with its contents on medium heat, wait for the water to boil. As soon as it boils, you need to salt everything, reduce the heat to almost a minimum and cook until tender. But this cooking method is for unpolished wheat. If you cook from polished wheat, it cooks just as quickly as rice.
All dried fruits that you have must first be soaked in hot water, and poppy seeds should also be soaked in the same way, but separately, in boiling water. Walnuts need to be chopped into small pieces and calcined in a dry frying pan or in a microwave oven for 30 seconds at maximum power.
The poppy seed needs to be ground until white milk begins to appear. If it is difficult to grind poppy seeds, then after you have drained the water from it, you need to add a tablespoon of sugar, it will be much easier. Now you need to cut large dried fruits too. Mix all this into the cereal along with honey, and before serving, garnish with nuts, whole dried fruits, and candied fruits as desired.
Kutya funeral
Funeral kutia from pearl barley is prepared very simply, it turns out quite crumbly and tasty. But in order to prepare a good funeral kutya from pearl barley, you will need to take a cauldron or any other pan with thick walls, so you will get porridge with individual grains. To begin with, you need to wash the cereal very well, and then add water - you need to take approximately twice as much water as the cereal, and leave it all to steep overnight. In the morning, the cereal is thoroughly washed again, and for this reason the basis for the funeral kutia is cooked from it.
Products you will need to prepare this dish:
Pearl barley – 1 cup;
Walnuts – 100 grams;
Raisins – 100 grams of selected seedless raisins;
Honey – 2 tablespoons;
Dried apricots – 100 grams.
First you need to take the cereal, fill it with 2 cups of water, and then add salt to taste and boil until tender over medium heat. Barley cooks quite quickly, if you soaked it overnight, one hour should be enough for you. Just don’t make the fire strong. If you want the cooked funeral kutia to be guaranteed crumbly, then you need to add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil at the beginning of cooking - then the grains will definitely not stick together, but will remain neat even after the kutia has completely cooled.
The poppy seed must be boiled for 10 minutes, and after that the water must be drained from it using a sieve or gauze folded several times. Then you need to take a rolling pin and use it to crush the poppy seeds until white milk forms. Now you need to take the raisins, sort them, then pour boiling water over them and drain the water. The dried apricots also need to be doused with boiling water, sorted and washed, and then cut into small squares. If the dried fruits are not very soft, then they must first be soaked in boiling water for one hour. Next you need to mix poppy seeds and nuts, as well as pearl barley with dried apricots and raisins. Garnish everything with dried fruits and serve.
Funeral rice kutia
Cooking kutia from rice is simple; the most important thing is to choose good quality rice that will not stick together when cooked.
If you don’t want the funeral kutia to look like a mess, then you will need to take the following products:
Steamed rice - a glass;
Poppy seeds - one glass;
Almond nuts – 100 grams;
Selected fresh light raisins without seeds – 100 grams;
Liquid natural honey to taste.
First you need to take the rice, rinse it thoroughly, then add water so that there is twice as much as the cereal. After this, you need to boil it as indicated on the package. There is no need to add vegetable oil to this rice or pre-heat it in oil, since it will already be crumbly.
After this, put the kettle on the fire - you need to rinse the poppy seeds and pour boiling water over it for one hour. Almonds should also be poured with boiling water and left for 15 minutes. After this, rinse the nut again with the remaining boiling water, place it on a saucer and quickly peel. The nuts that you have already freed from the film should be slightly dried in the oven or in a dry frying pan. After this, you need to take the raisins, drain the water from them, rinse everything, and then mix the raisins with honey and rice if they have already cooled down. We also mix in the almonds, which you previously chopped a little. Only part of the almonds should be left whole. You need to drain the water from the poppy seeds and crush them using a blender. Mix it into the funeral feast. After this, you need to decorate everything with the remaining whole nuts and raisins, if desired.
Another option
Funeral kutia made from barley with prunes is one of the traditional ritual dishes, and it is also quite simple to prepare.
For this you will need the following products:
Whole pearl barley – 200 grams;
Shelled nuts – 50 grams;
Sugar and honey are added to taste;
Prunes – 100 grams;
Vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon.
First, you need to start working on the pearl barley in the evening - you need to rinse it very well, so for one glass of pearl barley you need to pour 2 glasses of water into the pan in which it will sit all night. In the morning, the pearl barley must be rinsed again until the water is clear. Place the washed cereal in a cauldron, then add two glasses of water and a tablespoon of vegetable oil. When pearl barley is cooked, it produces abundant foam, which must be skimmed off during cooking. As soon as the foam is removed, add a little salt, cover the cauldron and set the cooking temperature to the minimum so that the cereal does not burn. The barley should be completely ready in one hour.
Place the kettle on the fire, rinse the poppy seeds, dried fruits and almonds. Prunes can be placed in one container with raisins, but poppy seeds and nuts can be placed separately. Pour boiling water over dried fruits for one hour, poppy seeds too - there should be exactly twice as much water in the glass as there are poppy seeds, after which you need to pour almonds in a separate container for 20 minutes. Afterwards, peel it, and then you need to dry everything in a frying pan. Next, you need to take the poppy seed, drain the water from it, and crush the poppy seed thoroughly. If the grinding is hard enough, then you need to add a spoonful of sugar to make the poppy seeds easier to grind, after which you need to take raisins and prunes. Drain the water and place the dried fruits in a sieve or on a paper towel to remove any remaining water. After this, you need to wait until the cereal has cooled down, and then mix everything together with honey. Garnish with nuts and serve.
Funeral rice kutia
Kutia from funeral rice is most often prepared, and this is absolutely not surprising, since rice cooks very quickly, unlike oats or pearl barley.
To prepare funeral kutia according to these recipes you need to take the following products:
Poppy seeds - 4 tablespoons;
Light raisins - 50 grams;
Dark raisins - 50 grams;
Honey - exactly 3 tablespoons;
A glass of long grain rice;
Dried cranberries - 50 grams;
Walnuts - a glass;
Unscented vegetable oil or olive oil - a tablespoon.
You need to take rice, rinse it until clean water - at least 7 times, then pour twice as much water into the cereal as rice, add a small pinch of salt, vegetable oil, then boil everything under the lid over low heat after boiling. After this, you need to cool the rice under the lid so that it does not dry out, and then take a kettle, pour water into it and put it on the fire to boil. The raisins must be washed and poured with boiling water, and after that the cranberries must be washed.
Next you need to do the following - take the cranberries, sort them, wash them, and put them on a napkin. Now the nuts - we heat them either in the microwave, or take a dry frying pan and put them there. Then you need to deal with the poppy seeds - drain the water from it, and then you just need to crush everything with a mortar. After this, the rice is seasoned with honey and all the ingredients, decorated with nuts and dried cranberries and served.
Sweet kutia made from rice
You can also prepare sweet kutya from wheat and figs, for this you will need to take the following products:
- A glass of wheat (200 grams);
- Water – 3 glasses;
- Figs – 100 grams;
- Poppy – 100 grams of grains;
- Vegetable oil - a tablespoon;
- Roasted walnuts – 100 grams;
- Honey – 4 tablespoons.
- Dried fruits – 200 grams.
First you need to take the wheat, sort it thoroughly, and wash it. To prepare kutya, it is best to use unpolished wheat; it turns out much tastier.
Before boiling it, you need to take it and soak it overnight, pouring three glasses of water. The next morning, you need to rinse everything thoroughly again until the water is clear, put the cereal in a thick saucepan, and after that you need to fill it with water - three glasses, and boil until tender, adding a little salt. After the water boils, you need to reduce the heat, add oil, cover everything with a lid and cook for an hour and a half until the cereal becomes soft.
The poppy seeds need to be washed under running water, placed in a bowl, poured with boiling water at the rate of one part poppy seed to two parts water, and leave everything to stand for one hour. Afterwards, you need to throw the poppy seed, which has swollen well, onto cheesecloth or a sieve and grind it with a blender into a paste, from which something like white milk will ooze.
Pour boiling water over the figs for 20 minutes, and then wash them and cut them into raisin-sized pieces. Next, you need to do the following - rinse the dried fruits, pour cold water over them and boil for 15 minutes. The decoction of dried fruits must be cooled. After this, you need to strain the liquid and mix it with honey, pour it into kutya. Now the roasted nuts need to be cut into smaller pieces, some of them should be left for decoration. Mix everything together with figs and poppy seeds, and then decorate and serve.
Kutya funeral recipe from rice with candied fruits
Kutya made from rice is especially tasty if you add enough poppy seeds and nuts.
To do this you need to take the following products:
Walnuts – 50 grams;
Cashews – 50 grams;
Almonds – 50 grams;
Rice - one glass;
Candied fruits – 100 grams;
Granulated sugar to taste.
In order to prepare such kutya, you need to take rice, rinse it, then add water in a ratio of 1:2, and then boil with a little salt until tender. If you are afraid that the rice will stick together, you can add a small amount of vegetable oil. Now you need to cool the rice under the lid so that it does not dry out, but remains tender and soft, but at the same time keeps its shape. Next, you need to take the poppy seed, put it in a container, pour boiling water over it, and then leave for an hour. Once it has brewed, drain all the water, without any residue, and after that you need to mix the poppy seeds with honey, candied fruits, and rice. Almonds also need to be poured with boiling water for about 10 minutes, then peeled. Cashews and walnuts just need to be dried in a frying pan and then placed on the kutia.
How to cook kutya for a funeral in a slow cooker
If you have a slow cooker, you can cook kutya in it. At least she cooks unpolished cereals, which require long-term heat treatment, so that they are not much different from cereals cooked in a cauldron or cast iron. And you won’t have to worry about the kutia burning or being messy - the multicooker will do most of the work for you. Therefore, if you have this kitchen assistant and want to know how to prepare kutia for a funeral, try using this method.
To cook pearl barley kutya in a slow cooker, you will need to take the following ingredients:
- Pearl barley -2 multi-cups;
- Water – 5-6 multi-cups, depending on how boiled the grains are to your liking.
- After this you need to take one teaspoon of sugar;
- Salt – one pinch;
- Almond nuts – 50-100 grams;
- Poppy – half a glass;
- Raisins – half a glass of quality pitted raisins;
- Sugar – 2 tablespoons for more convenient grinding of poppy seeds.
Initially, you need to soak the cereal in the evening, after which you need to rinse it thoroughly, place it in the multicooker bowl and add the required amount of water. Immediately add salt, close the lid, and select the mode for cooking the porridge - usually “rice” or “buckwheat”.
Cook until done. After this, you can take out the porridge and put it in a regular saucepan, cover with a lid, and wait until the barley cools down.
Boil the water. Pour boiling water over poppy seeds. Let it stand for one hour, then drain the water so that there is no water left in the poppy seed, add sugar, and then grind everything thoroughly. Raisins need to be soaked in warm water for half an hour, and then rinsed, scattered on a paper napkin so that the water comes off and is absorbed into the paper. The nuts must be peeled and then calcined. Kutya should be mixed with honey and poppy seeds, raisins and some nuts. After this, you need to decorate the funeral kutya with the remaining whole nuts.
How to cook kutya for a funeral, step-by-step video recipe
We have also prepared a video for you to fully understand the step-by-step cooking process.
The centuries-old Orthodox history amazes with the abundance of rituals and traditions. Many of them were forgotten over time and underwent changes. But there are also those that have been passed down from generation to generation and are firmly rooted in our everyday life. These include the custom of placing kutya on the table during a funeral meal.
Mentions of this dish date back long before the rise of Christianity and go back to the times of pagan sacrifices. For a long time, the Slavic people believed in the immortality of the soul and, as a consequence, in the preservation of some human needs even after death, including food. Therefore, it was customary to cook porridge from wheat and leave it on the grave. Kutia owes its name to the Greek word “Koukki”, which means “grain” and a similar, but less sweet dish, kolivo. Due to their similarity, they are often confused and even mistaken for one and the same thing, although the first records about kolyva appeared in ancient times - the 5th-6th centuries AD and were found in the writings of the Byzantine Empire.
Today, kutia is a symbol of Christian faith in the existence of the kingdom of heaven, eternal life and resurrection. In memory of the dead, it is customary to perform merciful acts and give out alms, one of the varieties of which is considered to be memorial dinners. Such meals symbolize the gathering of Christ's disciples at one table, awaiting his miraculous resurrection. In the early stages of the development of Orthodox culture, the entire community gathered at a common table as a sign of affirmation of love for their neighbors. During such events, those who were no longer in this world were certainly remembered, which seemed to emphasize that both the living and the dead belonged to the same church. Over time, organizing such meals became the concern of the relatives of the deceased. The products that were used to prepare funeral dinners were placed in baskets and brought to the church for blessing during the service. This was done the previous evening, that is, the day before. This is where another popular name for Kutya comes from - kanun. It is also believed that “eve” comes from a Greek word meaning “basket.”
The original qanun recipe included boiled wheat with raisins and honey, but poppy seeds were first added in the 16th century. The tradition of preparing this dish from rice began somewhere in the 19th century.
What does kutya symbolize?
Each ingredient in the recipe for this dish has a hidden meaning. The basis of the eve is boiled or steamed grain, as a symbol of the resurrection from the dead. If you plant a grain in the ground, it will sprout and bear fruit, but it itself will decay. By analogy, the same thing happens with a dead person who was buried according to Christian laws - he is resurrected for eternal life.
Another important component of the recipe is honey. Orthodox writings mention that it was this that Christ ate when, having risen, he appeared before his disciples. Since then, it has been customary to serve honey on the table as a symbol of the bliss of eternal life and spiritual peace in the Heavenly Kingdom, so that the soul of the deceased can enjoy the heavenly sweetness.
Raisins on the eve are reminiscent of the Fruits of Paradise, which were intended for humans and were a symbol of health and eternal life. Another traditional dish was fruit and honey uzvar (or jelly).
By the way, kutya is also prepared on some Orthodox holidays: Christmas, Kolyada and Epiphany, using various recipes. Moreover, it is believed that the thicker and “richer” the ingredients of the dish itself are, the greater wealth awaits the family in the new year.
How to serve and consume qanun correctly
This dish is prepared in advance and taken with you to church for consecration during a memorial service or funeral service. In exceptional cases, you can sprinkle it with holy water yourself by reading a prayer over it in front of the icons. A plate with kutya is placed in the middle of the table and the meal begins with it. First, the relatives eat it, and then everyone else takes a spoonful of this dish, while remembering the deceased. It is also served on the ninth and fortieth day, six months and a year from the date of death. It is consumed cold.
It is believed that kanun, like other food, should be eaten only with spoons (or hands) at such dinners, although the Orthodox Church does not prohibit the use of forks and knives. The reason for this tradition goes back to the reign of Peter I, who introduced the custom of using forks. The common people accepted such a reform reluctantly and dubbed the cutlery a “demonic tail” capable of destroying the soul of a Christian. Therefore, in order not to harm the deceased in the afterlife, only spoons were served at the wake.
Recipes and cooking technology
Rice began to be used in the recipe for this dish due to the fact that this cereal cooks the fastest (not counting buckwheat, of course) and tastes well with all kinds of additives. To ensure that the porridge is crumbly and does not stick together into a lump, it is best to use long-grain rice rather than round rice. You should also rinse it very well until the water becomes clean and clear. It is better to take fresh honey for the recipe, that is, liquid. If it has already crystallized, it must be dissolved in a water bath or in a microwave oven. In this form, it will be evenly distributed and better absorbed by the rice.
Recipe for kutya from rice with raisins
For preparation you will need the following ingredients:
– 1 cup steamed or regular rice;
– 3 tbsp. spoons of natural bee honey;
– 2 glasses of water;
– 200 gr. raisins;
– 100 gr. walnut kernels;
- a pinch of salt.
Rinse the rice thoroughly, add water and cook until fully cooked in a thick-bottomed container. Add a little salt during cooking. Ready rice can be washed with boiled, chilled water. Transfer to a sieve and allow excess water to drain. Lightly chop the nuts and fry in a frying pan. Place the cereal on a plate, add nuts, honey and raisins, mix well. Decorate with dried fruits, canned cherries or nuts.
Kutya recipe with candied fruits and nuts
You will need the following products:
50 grams of walnut kernels;
– 50 grams of cashews;
– 50 grams of peeled almonds;
– 50-100 grams of candied fruits;
– 50 grams of raisins;
– 50 grams of steamed poppy seeds;
– 1 glass of rice;
– 2 glasses of water;
- honey or sugar to taste.
Thoroughly washed long grain rice is poured with water in a ratio of 1:2 and boiled until tender. If you add a little sunflower oil, the porridge will not stick together. Remove from heat and cool with the lid closed so that a rough crust does not form on the porridge. Lightly chop the nuts and cut the candied fruits into small cubes. Mix all ingredients until smooth, place on a plate and decorate.
Kutya recipes are varied and change depending on the time and the set of traditional products. Each housewife prepares it to her own taste, adding certain components.
Kutya- this is Orthodox funeral dish, which symbolizes faith in eternal life, resurrection and the kingdom of heaven.
Another name for Kutya is Kolivo.
At Christmas, weddings, baptisms, Orthodox holidays... Kutya is also prepared, but they call it differently - Kolivo.
Kolivo- this is Orthodox holiday dish. When Kolivo is ready, it must be blessed in the church during the service and a prayer must be read before the meal. Kolivo is blessed in the church and served on the table on Friday of the first week of Lent in memory of the miracle of St. Martyr Theodore Tyrone, who, appearing on this day in 362 in a dream to the Bishop of Antioch Eudoxius, warned about the desecration of food in the markets with blood sacrificed to idols.
The word “kutia” translated from Greek means boiled wheat.
In fact, kutya (Kolovo) is prepared from any cereal, such as rice, buckwheat, millet..., sweetened with honey or sugar and adding raisins and other dried fruits, candied fruits, poppy seeds, nuts, muesli, jam, marmalade.
With Kutya (Koliv) it is customary to serve lean milk in a separate gravy boat - Uzvar, which is made from poppy seeds, walnuts or hazelnuts, or a mixture of them, or almonds. Accordingly, poppy, nut or almond milk is obtained. Kutya
Based on 25-30 people. Ingredients:
Long rice – 100 grams
Raisins – 70-100 grams
Candied fruits – 50 grams
Honey or sugar – 1 tablespoon
Purified water – 600 milliliters
Preparation:
1. According to Orthodox customs, the fruits that are added to Kutya are associated with the fruits of paradise that God gave to all humanity. You can add not only raisins to this dish, but also dried fruits if desired: dried apricots, prunes, and also candied fruits and poppy seeds.
So, put the raisins in a small saucepan, fill it with plain water and leave for 20-30 minutes. Afterwards we rinse it under running water.
Pour into a saucepan with dried fruits 200 ml purified water and boil it over medium heat 5 minutes. If you use dried apricots or prunes, after cooking, cut them into small pieces.
2. In history, funeral dinners symbolize the gathering of Christ’s disciples, who were glad about the Resurrection of their mentor and waited for his appearance at the table every time. Therefore, in early Christian societies, having meals together, they expressed love for each other and honored the dead by telling stories about them and remembering pleasant moments in their lives. And when the Risen Christ appeared to his disciples, he ate honey. Therefore, since ancient times, honey has been served at funeral dinners or added to other dishes so that the deceased can be satisfied with the heavenly sweetness.
In order for this ingredient to be well absorbed into the rice and the Kutia to turn out sweet, you need to melt it a little.
So, spoon the honey into a small saucepan and, stirring constantly, heat it over medium heat literally 1-2 min. We control the time ourselves, since the honey may be candied, and because of this you will have to tinker with it a little longer. Instead of honey, you can add another sweet component to Kutya - sugar. To do this, simply dissolve it in a small amount of hot water.
3. Grind the candied fruits to the size you like best. This ingredient is added to many dishes, such as Easter cake. After all, candied fruits are fruits with a dense consistency boiled in syrup. They are very sweet and serve as an excellent substitute for candy. Therefore, when adding candied fruits to Kutya, be careful with sugar so as not to over-sweet the dish.
4. First, soak the rice in a medium-sized saucepan with plain water. for 1-2 hours. Afterwards, drain the water and fill the rice with purified water. According to the proportions, 100 grams of cereal requires 400 ml of water. As for rice, you can take either short grain or long grain.
Place the pan with the cereal on the stove, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Do not stir the rice with a spoon during cooking. Don't worry - it won't burn. Over low heat, the rice will “breathe”, slowly evaporating the water.
We check the rice from time to time. When there is practically no water left in the pan and the cereal grains become soft, add raisins or other dried fruits, chopped candied fruits, and pour in honey or sugar water. Mix everything well with a spoon and keep on fire another 1-2 minutes.
5. Using a spoon, transfer the prepared Kutya from the pan into a deep plate or bowl. Level the surface of the dish with a spoon and, if desired, decorate with raisins and candied fruits. And now we cover it with a lid from the pan so that the Kutya slowly cools down.
According to Orthodox traditions, after Kutya has been consecrated, a prayer is read at the table and the funeral meal begins with a spoonful of this sweet dish.
Bon appetit !
Adviсe:– Instead of rice, you can add other grains to Kutya. For example, wheat, buckwheat, pearl barley...
– Funeral Kutya is prepared for wakes on the ninth, fortieth day, for six months, a year, on the memorial day, as well as special dates allocated for this.
– After the funeral meal, you can put Kutya in a cool place or in the refrigerator and remember the deceased with it the next day before eating, until Kutya is over.
“The funeral kutya is placed in the center of the table and, as usual, each person eats one spoon before the meal. You can also take this dish with a fork or directly with your hands.
Kolivo
Ingredients:
Wheat – 1 cup
Walnuts – 100 grams
Poppy – 1 glass
Raisins – 100 grams
Dried fruits (apples, pears, apricots, plums) – 150 grams
Sugar – 4 tablespoons
Honey – 3 tablespoons
Purified water – 500 milliliters
Preparation:
1. On the Christmas Eve, Kolivo must be on the table. This dish is prepared in the evening from January 6 to January 7, as well as on January 13. Kolivo is a traditional Slavic dish that reflects abundance and fertility. In order for Kolivo to turn out truly tasty and festive, you need to know how to prepare it correctly.
Let's start preparing the main ingredient - wheat. First, on the kitchen table, we sort through the grains and separate the spoiled ones from the good ones. Then pour the cereal into a deep bowl and rinse under running water. Fill with water so that it covers the wheat and soak at 12 o'clock or all night. They swell with water and become less hard. This type of wheat will cook twice as fast.
In the morning, drain the remaining water from the soaked wheat. Transfer it from the bowl to a deep saucepan and fill it with fresh water. Stick to proportions. For example, for our recipe: 100 grams of soaked wheat requires 500 ml of water.
So, put the pan with wheat on the stove, bring it to a boil and only after that reduce the heat to low. Cook the cereal for at least 2 hours until completely cooked. Ready-made wheat should be soft in consistency, but not overcooked. Wheat grains in our dish symbolize long and eternal life, in abundance and goodness.
2. While our wheat is boiling, we are preparing Uzvar.We take dried fruits, rinse them under running water and then put them in a deep saucepan with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Immediately after boiling, reduce the heat and let the mixture simmer over low heat until cooked through. 15 – 20 min. In 5 minutes until done, add 2 tablespoons of sugar.
Uzvar is ready.
To make it more tasty and rich, leave it for another 4-5 hours.
3. After Uzvar has brewed, separate the liquid from the dried fruits. Place the fruit in a sieve and let the remaining Uzvar drain out. Place the finished dried fruits on a cutting board and chop them into small pieces with a knife. The size of the pieces doesn't really matter. Place the chopped dried fruits on a plate.
4. Place the poppy seed on a plate and pour boiling water over it to steam it. After the water in the poppy seed has cooled, drain it. Add two tablespoons of sugar to the poppy seeds and grind with a blender until white juice appears.
This juice is called " milk of poppy seeds" In general, the poppy is a symbol of prosperity.
5. There is nothing complicated in preparing raisins. It is desirable that it be seedless. If this ingredient contains grape tails, remove them from the raisins. Then we rinse it under running water, put it on a plate and pour boiling water over it. Steam the raisins for 30 minutes. This process is necessary so that the dried grapes absorb some water, swell and become juicier and softer. Afterwards, drain the remaining water. Gently squeeze the raisins with your hands and leave them in the plate.
6. Using a blender on the first or second mode, grind the peeled walnuts. Do not use turbo mode under any circumstances, as we need small pieces of the ingredient. And this mode turns any product into crumbs.
Transfer the nut pieces to a plate. By the way, according to Slavic customs, walnuts were added to Kolivo, as it was a symbol of fertility, productivity and good luck.
7. Our Kolivo is almost ready!There are a few main finishing touches left. Place cooled cooked wheat, raisins, chopped dried fruits, poppy seeds and nuts in a deep bowl. Season our mixture with honey and Uzvar.
Mix everything well with a spoon until a homogeneous mass is formed.
Kolivo must not only be placed first on the table, but also be offered to guests to try it, since this is the main dish on Holy Evening. Kolivo is served cold with cream, milk or Uzvar.
According to Orthodox traditions, after Kolivo is blessed, a prayer is read at the table and the festive meal begins with a spoonful of this sweet dish.
Enjoy your meal !
Adviсe:– If you don’t have a blender on hand to grind nuts, then you can use a rolling pin, or crush the nuts in a mortar, or finely chop them with a knife, or you can just break them with your hands.
– In the process of preparing the filling for Kolivo, you can grind the poppy seeds with sugar in a mortar. You can also use a bowl and a regular tablespoon. Of course, it will take longer to prepare the poppy seeds than if we could use a blender. In any case, the result will be the same.
– If for some reason you do not have dried fruits for Uzvar, you can prepare sugar syrup with jam. To do this, you need to dissolve sugar in a small amount of water and then add a couple of tablespoons of your favorite jam.
– You can add any dried fruits, frozen berries, any types of nuts and even candied fruits and marmalade to Kolivo.
– Not only wheat is suitable for Kolivo. It can also be prepared from different cereals, such as, for example, rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, pearl barley...
– It is best to cook porridge in a cast iron cauldron or a saucepan with a thick bottom. In such containers, the cereal will not burn and will turn out crumbly.
– If Kolivo turns out to be very thick, it can be diluted with Uzvar.
– Very important: Kolivo is not stored for a long time, since honey, in combination with all the components of the dish, can begin to ferment.
– If for some reason you were unable to consecrate Kutya in the church, do not be upset. You can simply sprinkle the dish with holy water at home or simply pray before the funeral meal.
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