A Dish for All Seasons

January 7 is Russian Orthodox Christmas, which brought to mind a Christmas dish. But then research showed that the chosen one, kutya, or sochivo as it’s also known, is much more than a winter holiday treat.

The recipe for kutya actually dates back to Ancient Greece – it translates simply as “boiled grain” – and has been served in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus at funeral feasts and in the lead up to religious holidays, yet it’s also well known to other Slavic nations. Its main component, grain, has always been a symbol of eternal life and rebirth, and it was believed that by eating kutya, people became a part of the endless circle of life.

The poppy seeds and nuts added to the dish symbolize fertility, and by adding them people would “program” their families to attain abundance, wealth and generosity. This is why, in addition to religious holidays and funeral feasts, kutya has often been cooked for the weddings and to celebrate the birth and christening of children. The honey in the recipe that is used to sweeten the dish symbolizes the pleasures of eternal life.

Traditional kutya was made with wheatberries, as this was the only grain available to peasants in the winter. Yet regional varieties have appeared over the centuries, and today one can make kutya with pearl barley, oats, barley and rice. The rice version is especially popular in southern Russia and eastern Ukraine.

There are three basic varieties of the dish that depend on the occasion:

hungry kutya, prepared for the Feast of Jordan, is water-based, and consists mostly of grains and a sweetener in the form of honey;

rich kutya, cooked and served on Christmas Eve (sochelnik), is a Lenten dish that is also water-based, but includes additional components such as dried fruit, poppy seeds and nuts;

lavish kutya, served on New Year’s Eve and for family celebrations, is made like the rich kutya, but is cooked with milk instead of water, or, if it is cooked with water, butter or heavy cream may be added for extra oomph.

So, we offer a rice kutya recipe from southern Russia. You don’t need to be an Orthodox Christian to enjoy it, and it should make a nice addition to your winter brunch menu.

Feel free to experiment with other dried fruit and nuts if you don’t like the ones that the recipe calls for. Some recipes also suggest using spices such as cardamom and cloves. These should be ground before adding them to the dish.

RICE KUTYA

INGREDIENTS

1 cup steamed/parboiled rice (so that the porridge is loose, not sticky)
½ cup raisins
½ cup dried apricots
½ cup poppy seeds
3-4 tbsp honey
½ cup walnuts
water

Rinse the rice and cook it using a 1:3 rice to water ratio. Once the rice is ready, rinse it with cold water.

Pour boiling water over the poppy seeds, cover the bowl with a plate and set aside for 30 minutes so that the seeds can absorb the water. Then strain the poppy seeds from any extra liquid and use an immersion blender to grind them until the seeds produce a white liquid called poppy milk.

Wash and dry the raisins and dried apricots. Chop the apricots and walnuts. If the apricots are very dry, you may soften them first by covering them with boiling water for 10 minutes or so.

If your honey is very thick, you can thin it a bit with water; if it’s liquid, you can use it as is. Another option is to use maple syrup instead of honey.

Mix the rice with the honey, then add the nuts, dried fruit and poppy seeds. Mix well. It’s best to warm the finished dish for about 10 minutes on the stove, but kutya can also be served cold. Just keep in mind that it doesn’t keep well, so it’s best to eat it right away.

If you want to go the more traditional route and use wheatberries, your cooking time will be much longer than with rice, and it’s best to soak the wheat for a day (or a night) beforehand. Otherwise the recipe is more or less the same.

And don’t be afraid to make the kutya your own by adding fresh or frozen fruit and berries instead of dried fruit, playing with spices, or even using things like gumdrops or candied fruit to decorate the finished dish.

It is the holiday season, after all.