Ingredients
Wheat
- 300 gwhole wheat berries, soaked overnight
- water
- a pinch of salt
Poppy milk
- 200 gpoppy seeds
- boiling water
- 3 tbsphoney
To finish
- 150 ghoney
- 100 gwalnuts, chopped
- 50 graisins
- 50 gdried apricots, chopped, optional
- uzvar dried fruit compote, for loosening
Directions
- Soak the wheat berries overnight, then simmer them in fresh water for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours until soft but still holding their shape. The grains must stay whole and separate.
- Drain them and let them cool completely, because warm grain would melt the honey into syrup rather than coating each berry.
- Pour boiling water over the poppy seeds and leave them to soak for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
- Drain the poppy seeds and grind them, in a mortar, a grinder or a blender, until they turn pale grey and release a milky liquid. The seeds must be ground, not merely soaked.
- Mix the ground poppy with the honey.
- Combine the cooked wheat, poppy mixture, remaining honey, walnuts and dried fruit. Loosen it with uzvar, the dried fruit compote, until it is spoonable rather than stiff.
- Let it stand at least 2 hours before serving so the flavours settle and the wheat absorbs the honey. Serve cool, in a communal bowl.
Technique
- It is served for the dead as well as at Christmas, and the same dish appears at memorial meals.
- Uzvar, the dried fruit compote, is served alongside as well as used to loosen it.
- Pearl barley or rice are used in some regions in place of wheat.
Substitutions
- Pearl barley, which cooks faster and is a recognised variation.
- Ready-ground poppy seed filling, sold in tins, which saves hours.
Variations
- Made with barley or rice.
- Kūčiukai, the Lithuanian Christmas Eve poppy dish, a related tradition.
- With cream stirred in, which is a modern and contested addition.
History
A sweet wheat berry pudding, mixed with poppy seed, honey and often nuts and dried fruit, prepared specifically for Christmas Eve within Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christian tradition, where it is traditionally the very first dish eaten at the formal twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper called Sviata Vecheria. Its ingredients each carry symbolic meaning within that tradition, with wheat representing hope and immortality, honey representing happiness and prosperity, and poppy seed traditionally associated with rest and peace, making kutia a dish whose preparation and specific ingredients are considered as significant as its taste. It remains one of the most ritually and symbolically important dishes in Ukrainian Christmas tradition specifically.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kutia?
Kutia is a dessert from Ukraine: christmas wheat porridge with poppy seeds, honey, nuts. A sweet wheat berry pudding, mixed with poppy seed, honey and often nuts and dried fruit, prepared specifically for Christmas Eve within Ukrainian Orthodox and Greek Catholic Christian tradition, where it is traditionally the very first dish eaten at the formal twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper called Sviata Vecheria. Its ingredients each carry symbolic meaning within that tradition, with wheat representing hope and immortality, honey representing happiness and prosperity, and poppy seed traditionally associated with rest and peace, making kutia a dish whose preparation and specific ingredients are considered as significant as its taste. It remains one of the most ritually and symbolically important dishes in Ukrainian Christmas tradition specifically.
How long does Kutia take to make?
Kutia takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Kutia?
Yes, within limits. Pearl barley, which cooks faster and is a recognised variation. Ready-ground poppy seed filling, sold in tins, which saves hours.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kutia?
Soak the wheat berries overnight, then simmer them in fresh water for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours until soft but still holding their shape. The grains must stay whole and separate.
