How to cook traditional Ukrainian Kutia dish for festive Christmas Eve dinner

On Christmas Eve, many Ukrainians will gather around a festive table featuring 12 meatless dishes — due to the Nativity Fast, practiced by Orthodox Christians prior to Christmas. Kutia (sweet wheat berry pudding) is a ritual dish to start the Christmas meal, following the strictest week of the Nativity Fast.

Ukraine will celebrate Christmas on new date for the first time in 2023, after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (OCU) and the Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) moved to the revised Julian calendar. In 2023, Christmas Eve for Ukrainians will fall on Dec. 24.

It is customary not to eat until the first star appears in the sky. In Orthodox tradition, the custom is intended to symbolize the birth of Jesus Christ. Then, as the Orthodox family sits down, they traditionally will pay prayers and light the Christmas candle. Following the head of the household’s blessing of the meal, each family members is meant to eat three spoons of kutia and then continue with the rest of the meal.

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Ukrainians often believed that the tastier the kutia on Christmas Day, the richer the year would be. Traditionally the dish is made from wheat, but this grain can be replaced by any other: pearl barley, rice, oats, and so on. In addition to cereals, you can add honey, poppy seeds or poppy milk, nuts, raisins, candied fruit, jam, and other toppings according to your taste.

NV Life is happy to share the best Kutia recipes for Christmas 2023.

Traditional Wheat Kutia

Ingredients:

1 cup wheat

2-3 cups water

1 tbsp vegetable oil

Pinch of salt

100-150g poppy seeds

100g raisins

100g walnuts

2-3 tbsp honey

Cooking instructions:

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Before cooking, soak the grain for several hours, or even better, overnight, unless it polished grain, which doesn't need to soak. Sort and rinse the wheat. Cook the wheat in a heavy saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the water.

While the wheat is cooking, pour boiling water over the poppy seeds and leave for an hour. Soak the raisins for 20 minutes. When the poppy seeds swell, drain the excess liquid. Grind the poppy seeds until they are milky.

Add the grated poppy seeds, chopped and toasted nuts, raisins and honey to the cooled cereal. Stir and serve on the holiday table.

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Rice Kutia

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice

100g raisins

100g nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews or other)

100g poppy seeds

Sugar, cinnamon, honey

Cooking instructions:

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Rinse the rice, cover with water and cook until tender. When the rice is cooked, rinse it with cold boiled water. Mix the soaked raisins with the chopped nuts, sugar and cinnamon. Add this mixture to the rice and drizzle with honey or sugar syrup.

Feel free to add berries, candied fruit, marmalade or jam, depending on your imagination and taste.

Halva and Chocolate Kutia

Ingredients:

1/2 cup wheat

100g halva

50g chocolate

100g nuts

100g poppy seeds

sugar, honey

Cooking instructions:

Cook the wheat as described in the first recipe. Pour boiling water over the poppy seeds, grind them until they become milky and add sugar. Roast the chopped nuts. Soak the raisins. Cut the halva into cubes and the chocolate into small pieces.

Mix the cooked wheat with the poppy seeds, nuts, raisins, halva and chocolate. Drizzle with honey. If it is too thick, add a little boiled water and mix again.

Bulgur Kutia

Ingredients:

1 cup bulgur

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

100g poppy seeds

100g raisins

100g nuts

Sugar, honey, pinch of salt

Cooking instructions:

Cook bulgur in lightly salted water for 15-20 minutes until soft. While the grain is cooking and cooling, soak the raisins and poppy seeds and chop the nuts. Grind the poppy seeds until they are milky and mix with honey. Mix the bulgur with the honey poppy seeds, raisins, nuts, seeds and sesame.

Pearl Barley Kutia

Ingredients:

1/2 cup pearl barley

150g Poppy seeds

100g nuts

50g raisins

Honey, sugar, half a glass of cream

Cooking instructions:

Rinse the pearl barley, cover with water at a 1:3 ratio and cook until tender. While the barley is cooking and cooling, soak the poppy seeds and raisins. Then grind the poppy seeds until they are milky. Add the poppy seeds, raisins, chopped toasted nuts, honey and sugar to the barley. Pour in the cream and stir.

Spelt Kuitia

Emmer is an ancient wheat, which is low in calories, rich in nutrients. It is an excellent choice for  a healthy lifestyle, though it takes a while to cook.

Ingredients for 4-6 servings:

400g emmer or wheat

50g poppy seeds

100g raisins

3 tbsp honey

100g walnuts

4-6 cups of jam

Cooking instructions:

1. Soak the emmer in cold water for 2 hours.

2. Pour 2 cups of water into the bowl of the slow cooker, bring to a boil on the simmer (110°C), add the washed poppy seeds to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute, then leave the poppy seeds in the slow cooker with the lid on for 30 minutes. Drain ⅔ of the water, allow to cool, then place the poppy seeds and water in a blender jar and puree.

3. Drain the water from the wheat. Pour 1 liter of water into the Multi Cook's bowl and add the grain. Using the rice or pilaf program (105°C), bring the grain to the boil with the lid open. Close the lid. Cook on porridge mode (90°C) for 1.5 hours. During this time, the grain should swell and absorb most of the water.

4. Add the washed raisins, honey and poppy seeds, stir and cook for another 30 minutes on porridge mode.

5. Serve the kutia in plates or cups, sprinkle with nuts or add some broth. Your festive Christmas Kutia is ready.

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Almond Milk Kutia

Not everyone likes the combination of uzvar (dried berries compote) and wheat. If so, you can fill the kutia with something else you like — almond milk for example, which is also a lean food. Follow any of the above recipes and enjoy with slices of fresh kiwi or orange.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine