Holy evening: rituals, traditions, signs. Poems for children's supper, a poem for kutya: beautiful Christmas poems and words for children for kutya. What words should you say when you wear the supper?

You will need

• To prepare kutya:
• - 1.5 tbsp. wheat, rice or other cereals;
• - 3 tbsp. l honey;
• - 0.75 tbsp. poppy;
• - 0.5 tbsp. walnuts;
• - 0.5 tbsp. raisins;
• - dried fruit uzvar;
• - sugar.
• To transport kutya:
• - food containers or other utensils.

Instructions

To join this interesting recipe, cook kutia, which is a Lenten dish. This dish is reminiscent of when people intending to be baptized on Christmas Day fasted in preparation for this sacrament, and then ate honey as a symbol of the sweetness of spiritual gifts.

Place portions of kutia into separate jars or other dishes. Convenient to use food containers. Although, probably, the most suitable utensils that correspond to the traditional atmosphere would be clay or ceramic pots.

Make preliminary arrangements with your family (if you have them) about your visit on January 6, when it is customary to wear the supper. Take them the kutya and congratulate them on the Nativity of Christ. In keeping with this tradition, it is customary to exchange gifts. It doesn’t matter if you don’t manage to visit everyone who is accepted. You can simply congratulate them on their holiday or stop by another day.

Children are also included in this tradition. Previously, children in villages served supper to their grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, and even their midwife. They sang special songs glorifying Christmas and Christ, and received sweets and coins as a token of gratitude. With the modern way of life, it is hardly possible to accomplish this as it was done before. Just try to grasp the idea of ​​this custom and help your child take the supper to the godparents, for example, the next day or during the Christmas holidays. Learn with him the words that are customary to say to godparents when presenting kutya: “Good evening, Holy Evening! Father and mother gave you supper.”

It will be very good and useful if on Christmas Eve you decide to take kutya to one of the people who are not doing well, try to support them and provide all possible help. After all, this is precisely the “salt” of the custom: everyone should be happy on Christmas! The customs of Christian holidays seem to remind us that at least on these days we must take care not only of ourselves and our loved ones, but also of other people in need. And this will make us feel better. Psychologists confirm that a person feels happy by helping the weaker, by making certain sacrifices for the benefit of others. Of course, these impulses must come from the heart itself.

Strictly speaking, any tradition associated with religious holidays remains only a dead ritual if the person observing it does not understand its spiritual meaning and simply does “like everyone else.” Giving supper to godparents, relatives or people in need does not in itself bring you closer to God and does not make you more morally perfect, nor does it bring any spiritual “bonuses”. Only in combination with sincere faith and love for these people does your action acquire special value and make you a little better, kinder, more merciful. This is probably the most important rule in the custom of wearing the supper.

This holiday and the following holidays of the winter ritual cycle, such as the Old New Year (Generous Evening on January 13), Epiphany, Candlemas, have been accompanied for centuries by many traditions, rituals, signs, songs, sayings - some have been lost, some have become known throughout the world, like the schedrivka “Shchedrik, schedrivochka, schedrivochka, the swallow has flown in,” which the whole world knows as “Carol of the Bells.” And even if not all of our traditions suffered the happy fate of “Shchedryk” - every year interest in everything that resonates within with the voice of distant ancestors grows stronger, and traditions are revived. Christmas night is magical, and everything you wish for will definitely come true. Peace to you, prosperity and happiness with your family!

Preparing for the Christmas holiday

The Christmas holiday is always preceded by the Nativity Fast, which lasts from November 27 (Filippovka). The housewife's task during this fast was general cleaning of the house and preparations for the Christmas holiday. Actually, the preparation, in fact, began in the summer, with the harvest festival, when the sheaf-didukh (the first or last sheaf of grain that was not threshed and which was believed to provide the harvest for the next year) was woven, and continued throughout the fall and winter . It also served as a decoration for the house at Christmas - it performed approximately the same functions as a Christmas tree today. (By the way, Christmas trees in Russia and Ukraine appeared at the beginning of the last century, and in some areas they were not placed on the floor, but hung from beams near the ceiling.)

A good housewife had to prepare new clothes for herself, her husband and children (which meant weaving linen, bleaching it, sewing and embroidering it with her own hands), and prepare new dishes. The owner had other Christmas worries: smoking the meat, putting wine and vodka to ripen... The final cleaning was done on January 2, on Ignat: the girls got to work, who not only cleaned, but also decorated the hut - didukh, spruce branches woven into spider wreath.

On January 4, at Anastasia, food preparations for festive meals were completed. On the morning of January 6, the housewife rose at dawn to collect dawn water for kuti and uzvar and to light the fireplace for cooking Christmas food.

Holy Evening or Christmas Eve

January 6, Holy Evening, was also the last day of the Nativity Fast, therefore the meal at which they sat down after the appearance of the first star heralding the Nativity of Christ was fasting. Moreover, the entire day of January 6 they observed strict fasting - they went hungry, with the exception of very young children and frail old people, who were given a little boiled food.

But in the evening, to emphasize the festivity of the moment, the table was set, although lean, but rich - with at least 12 dishes. This meal was called a rich kutya. It was not necessary to eat all the dishes (and in large Ukrainian families there was no such opportunity) - but each family member tried a piece of all twelve.

We started, of course, with the main thing - kutya, a ritual porridge cooked from wheat (in some regions - rice, barley) grain and seasoned with various tasty additives: ground poppy seeds, candied fruits, uzvar, sweet candies, nuts. The more such delicacies there are in kutia, the better, because it is a symbol of prosperity and heavenly life.

And besides, kutia is a ritual funeral dish, so a bowl of kutia and a glass of uzvar were placed for ancestors, whose spirits were believed to visit their home on this magical night. Kutya was also worn as a wish for well-being to the closest and most important people - godmothers, godparents, grandparents. This ritual is called “carrying the supper”: children carry kutya, and adults try a spoonful of kutya and present gifts to the children.

All 12 dishes of the Christmas table had their own symbolic meaning. And not even just one: the older, pagan roots of the holiday and Christian traditions are intertwined. Once upon a time, in the pre-Christian era, our ancestors believed that in December-January a miraculous vital force was born, which would provide prosperity and joy to both man and nature throughout the next year.

Christianity has given purely everyday beliefs a deeper meaning, which is why so much attention is paid to the 12 dishes on the table, preparation for the holiday, Christmas signs and rituals. In general, there is no single list of all 12 dishes for everyone - our country is large, each locality has its own characteristics: instead of simple lean borscht - borscht with dough ears, empty or with lean filling, for example, mushrooms. Or borscht with crucian carp. Or borscht could be replaced with cabbage. In the Vinnytsia region they cooked porridge - millet or buckwheat. Some places served pancakes.

The main and unchanging dishes for everyone remain uzvar, kutia, Lenten dumplings and various Lenten pastries. There should be as much of it as possible: this will guarantee health and strength for the owner of the house, and will bring prosperity and harvest. Rolls, donuts, pies and pies - everything will be right.

All this wealth, of course, had to be served on a properly set table. Hay from the didukh was placed on the table (the owner gave most of this sheaf to cows, sheep and goats, and brought a little into the house; his sons participated in the ritual with the owner), it was covered with a new elegant tablecloth, and food was placed on this tablecloth.

Typically, the 12-course meal, the first ceremonial meal of Christmas, was enjoyed entirely with family. After it, children brought supper to their godparents, young people or men went to carol, adults gathered for church, and unmarried girls did not miss the opportunity to tell fortunes for their betrothed (although the church forbade this).

We went to visit on January 7, after a church service and breaking the fast. The magical Christmas night is coming, and you can’t sleep that night, otherwise you’ll sleep through your happiness. Yes, this will not work: the carolers sing their songs and have fun, the church bells ring and people rejoice noisily, returning from the service.

Feast of the Nativity of Christ

On the first day of Christmas, food was non-lenten - lard, sausages, liver, and meat dishes loved by Ukrainians were placed on the table, and homemade vodka or mead was served with them. After a hearty meal, one felt sleepy, so it was time for a well-deserved rest, and after dinner they went on a visit: adult children with their husbands and wives visited their parents, godfathers visited each other.

And on this day they forgave each other old grievances and made peace. In general, the day should be spent noisily, cheerfully, in a large company of friends, godfathers, and buddies - you cannot be alone or in a close family circle. The Kozaks had their own business on January 7 - it was the day of summing up the results and electing a new foreman.

January 8 - Day of the Virgin Mary This day was intended to honor the Virgin Mary and all women - mothers, grandmothers, wives. They could not work around the house (and this was simply strictly forbidden for pregnant women), and in order not to get bored, women were allowed to sing carols (in general, caroling is the work of men and homeless youth). And of course, all prayers sent to the Mother of God on this day will certainly be heard.

Signs for Holy Evening and Christmas

• All borrowed items must be returned before Christmas.
• To dress for the table on Holy Eve, you need to wear new, smart and always light-colored clothes, so as not to bring mourning to the family.
• Holy evening is celebrated only by your family. If guests are unavoidable, they try to ensure that a happy and pleasant person comes. This sign is associated with the pan-European tradition of the first guest: whoever first crosses the threshold of the house will program the family for the whole year. And if an evil person comes, the year will be unsuccessful.
• Before sitting down at the table on Holy Evening, you need to blow on a bench or chair in order to blow away the souls of the ancestors who came to visit, so that you don’t accidentally sit on them.
• Every family member should be at home on Holy Evening.
• You also can’t be late to the table - you’ll be wandering in a distant place all year.
• During dinner on Holy Evening, you should not get up from the table, shout or talk loudly - so as not to disturb the souls of your ancestors and scare away good luck.
• On January 6 and 7, you need to, at least mentally, ask for forgiveness from everyone you have offended, and forgive everyone who has offended you. By the way, it is during this period that forgiveness is especially easy.
• You can't go to bed on Christmas night - you'll sleep through your happiness.
• Warm Christmas - for a cold spring.
• On Christmas, there should be a live fire burning in the house - a stove, a fireplace, candles.

Kutia is considered a traditional dish for Christmas Eve. This is a lean dish, which contains grains of barley, wheat, sugar, several types of nuts, and honey.

In addition to cooking, the Russian people have a tradition of bringing it to godparents or other relatives and friends. Let's talk about how to prepare kutia for Christmas correctly, as well as for what reasons it is worn and to whom.

Kutya to visit: why they bring it

The ritual of wearing the supper came to us in pagan times from the southern side of Ukraine. The main purpose of tradition is the desire for prosperity. The grain from which the dish is prepared is considered a sign of fertility, honey - wealth, various nuts - strength.

The technology of preparing a dish is not an easy process. After all, it is important to remember that well-being is a fruit achieved through diligence. Consequently, in ancient times, bringing a plate of kutia into the house for Christmas was considered the highest reward for hard work; this is how a person shows respect.

With the advent of the Christian faith, the tradition underwent a number of changes. The main purpose remained, but they began to wear it exclusively to family and friends, blood relatives, showing the unity of the family. The second name of the ritual is “procession of the cross.”

Kutya was always brought to the house of the godparents as a thank you for their presence and participation in the second birth of the baby, which includes the baptism process. “Thank you” is also said for making a decision and the responsibility to pray for the child, to give instructions on the true path. For this reason, it is children who contribute to the classic Christmas dish.

In pagan times, the children showed this gratitude to the midwives who helped them to be born. They were considered a second mother. But over time, this responsibility was assigned to the godson’s godson’s parents.

Children are hope for the future, symbolizing spiritual purity. Therefore, it is important to congratulate not only godparents, but also other relatives. Children are the first to try kutya, and only then the rest of the family.

A lean, tasty and noble dish is prepared on Christmas Eve before Christmas, and Vespers must be served after sunset on January 6th.

In ancient times, the traditional snack was consumed not only by people, but also by pets. The feeding process followed certain rules, because an animal tamed by man was considered a symbol of wealth, success, and well-being.

Of course, in the modern world such strange customs are not carried out, and amendments were also made to the date of treating kutia until the evening of the 7th.

How to bring kutya correctly

The meeting of children with kutya on the threshold should take place with the following words, “Christ is born,” and the children in response say, “We praise him.” After the official ceremony, adults hand out candy, cookies and other treats to the children, and in return receive kutia.

Of course, gifts can be varied, not necessarily sweets. But it is important to remember that the exchange of sweets on Christmas Eve indicates wishes for each other’s well-being, prosperity and prosperity.

It is important to follow customs, even if you are not a fan of sweet foods. So, let's look at a few important rules for serving the supper:

1. First of all, the container with kutya is given to the godfather - the head of the house, after which the Lenten dish goes to the keeper of the hearth - the godmother.
2. They eat the appetizer one tablespoon at a time, and then place it in the middle of the festive table for other family members to try.
3. Celebrating Christmas is required in the family circle; for this reason, guests are not invited to this holiday.

But if you still invited guests, then they shouldn’t stay too long. After all, Christmas is required to be celebrated in a narrow family circle, smoothly ending the Lenten season.

How to cook kutya

You can make a lean dish from any cereal or grain. The classic option is to use wheat grains, previously crushed in a bowl of clean water to separate the chaff. But in different regions, people also use cereals such as barley, pearl barley, rice, buckwheat, and oats.

Let's look at several options for how to properly cook kutia for Christmas.

Traditional wheat recipe

To prepare you will need to prepare:

• water - 800 ml;
• wheat grains - 400 g;
• poppy seed - 200 g;
• nuts - 1 cup;
• raisins - 0.15 kg;
• natural honey - 60 g;
• granulated sugar to taste;
• dried apricots, prunes optional.

Rinse the grains and add the required amount of liquid. Place on the stove, cover. After boiling, reduce the heat and cook until the wheat is ready. Add hot liquid as needed. It is important that the cereal turns out crumbly.

The poppy seeds are placed in a small container, poured with boiling water, covered and left in this form for 3 hours to swell. Drain the liquid and grind the finished ingredient until white milk is released. To speed up the process, add a little granulated sugar.

Combine the finished poppy seed with a bee product, chopped nuts, and raisins. Pour boiling water over it, leave for 5-8 minutes and season with the finished cereal. Mix, place in a beautiful plate and serve.

From millet cereals

• sugar - 200 g;
• cinnamon (powder) - 2 tsp;
• millet cereal - 400 g;
• water - 800 ml;
• white raisins - 200 g;
• fresh honey - 100 g;
• almonds - 200 g.

Place dry grapes in a plate, pour boiling water over them, and leave for 30 minutes to swell. Strain through a sieve.

Millet groats are washed well and boiled for 10-15 minutes until half-cooked. Drain the remaining water, add new 400 ml. Continue cooking until done. It is important that there is no liquid and the porridge does not burn.

Soak the nut in cold water for 4 hours. Drain and blend in a blender until smooth.

Add raisins, cinnamon, and sugar to taste to the container with porridge. Stir and place in a beautiful plate. Before serving, sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Christmas rice kutia recipe

• water - 400 ml;
• marmalade - 150 g;
• rice - 200 g;
• salt - 1/2 tsp;
• natural honey - 50 g;
• raisins - 3/4 cup.

Rinse the cereal, put it in a saucepan, add water. Cook on high heat for 4 minutes, then set to medium for 7 minutes, and on low for 4 minutes.

Cover and leave for a quarter of an hour to swell. As a result, the rice turns out fluffy and soft.

Rinse the raisins, steam with boiling water, leaving for 10 minutes. Strain through a sieve.

Finely chop the marmalade. Add to rice along with raisins and honey. Stir, place in a suitable plate, and serve.

Advice! For a more improved taste, rice cereals can be boiled in a mixture of milk and water. So, it will not only boil well, but will also give the dish a more refined creamy taste.

Proper serving of a Lenten dish

After cooking, the kutya needs to be placed in a deep, beautiful plate. To avoid spoiling the original taste, it is recommended to add honey immediately before serving. How to decorate Christmas kutia?

As a decoration, you can sprinkle chopped nuts, raisins, finely grated chocolate, sweets and marmalade on top. Basically, the snack is not decorated, since the combination of products gives it a special appearance.

Kutia is not only healthy, but also a tasty dish that brings joy, respect, and well-being. By observing all traditions, children's laughter will always sound in your family, and bitterness and bad weather will pass by.

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The traditional Christmas Eve dish has many different names, but most people know it as Kutia.

This is a lean dish prepared from wheat and barley grains in the form of porridge, with the addition of sugar, nuts, honey and other ingredients.

In addition to preparing kutia, there is also a tradition of giving it to godparents and other blood relatives, as well as just close people.

But, unfortunately, today not everyone knows when to wear kutya and how to do it correctly. It is worth noting that the tradition is quite popular, and therefore it is necessary to learn about it in more detail.

Why wear kutya and when is it right to do it?

Despite the fact that the ritual of wearing the supper is Orthodox, it came from the south of Ukraine, since the times of paganism.

The main message of this tradition remains the wish for well-being, since the grain from which kutia is prepared symbolizes fertility, honey represents wealth, and walnuts represent power.

But at the same time, the procedure for preparing the dish itself is not easy, which is why it reminds people that well-being, like any fruit, is achieved only through hard work.

Thus, the offering of the supper was carried out for those people who, through their work, had earned a certain respect.

With the advent of Christianity, the tradition was slightly changed, but the basic principle remained the same - the desire for well-being, wealth and power.

The wearing of the supper is also called a “procession of the cross”, because kutya is usually taken to close and blood relatives, as a symbol of family unity. Moreover, first of all, this concerned the godparents, who were thanked for being present at the second birth of the child, which is considered the rite of baptism, and taking upon themselves the responsibility of praying and spiritually instructing the child on the true path.

That is why the children themselves should wear kutya themselves.

In the pre-Christian period, children showed similar gratitude to midwives, who actually helped bring the baby into the world, and therefore were considered a second mother. But gradually this role was taken over by godfathers in relation to the godson’s parents.

In addition, we must remember that children are a symbol of spiritual purity and hope for a better future. Therefore, it is extremely important for children to congratulate, in addition to their second parents, their other relatives.

Also for this reason, children are traditionally the first to try cooked kutya, and then all other family members.

Kutya is prepared on Christmas Eve, before Christmas, so the supper is served after sunset on January 6th.

In ancient times, not only relatives, but also livestock were fed a festive dish, but not simply by throwing food, but in a special ritual way, since animals were one of the main symbols of well-being.

But today such rituals are no longer carried out, and in addition to January 6th, wearing kutia is also allowed in the evening of the 7th. Although fasting had already ended on Christmas Day, and since kutia was still a fasting dish, it was prepared specifically for Christmas Eve.

How to cook real Kutya

Today there are many recipes for kutia, but they are all divided into three types of dishes:

• rich - which is prepared on Christmas Eve,
• generous - a festive treat for the New Year?
• hungry - for Epiphany.

Accordingly, only the richest of these options can be used for the religious procession.

In order to prepare traditional kutya, you need to take cereal from wheat or barley grains. But today you can also use buckwheat, rice, oats, pearl barley and any other ingredient to your taste to prepare porridge.

Traditional kutia recipe for Christmas

If you prepare kutya according to the traditional recipe, then for one glass of wheat you will need one hundred grams of raisins, walnuts and poppy seeds, as well as two tablespoons of honey.

The grains must be well sorted, without debris, so if necessary, you will have to sort them by hand.

Then pour cold water and leave for at least 2-3 hours, and possibly overnight, until the grains swell. But when using polished wheat, this soaking is not required.

In order to cook wheat, you need to take two glasses of water for polished and three for regular. It is better to carry out the cooking process in a thick-walled or cast-iron pan until the wheat is completely softened.

The poppy seeds need to be boiled for about 10 minutes, then strain thoroughly, waiting until all the water has drained out.

Rinse the raisins well and pour boiling water over them, then leave for 20 minutes and rinse.

Fry the nuts in a frying pan and chop them into small pieces with a knife. After this, mix and add honey to them.

Popular rice kutia

But today, kutia made with rice is more popular for Christmas, especially since it is easier to prepare than wheat.

To do this, use one and a half to two glasses of water per glass of rice, which must first be brought to a boil, then add the rice and cook in a saucepan with the lid closed for about three minutes on high heat, then another six minutes on medium and finally three minutes on low. . After this, keep the cereal in the pan for another 12 minutes without opening the lid so that the rice is properly steamed.

Uzvar is a necessary attribute of kutya

Kutya is also seasoned with uzvar, which is essentially a compote.

To prepare, you need to rinse the dried fruits, then pour them into cold water and bring them to a boil together with the fruits.

As for boiled dried fruits, a small part of them can be chopped and added to the dish.

How to decorate kutya

When the dish is cooked, put the porridge in a deep plate.

An important point is that if ordinary wheat was cooked, then honey is poured into the porridge right before serving or before visiting relatives. Because if honey is in the porridge too early, the original taste of kutya will be spoiled.

There is no need to particularly decorate this dish, as it is considered beautiful in itself. But modern chefs, in order to give the kutia an even more attractive look, place pieces of nuts, candied fruits, multi-colored dragees on top, and sprinkle with grated chocolate.

Many of us associate Christmas with a rich festive table, where the whole family gathers to celebrate the birth of Christ. Ideally, all prepared dishes should be lean, but today not everyone adheres to these traditions. But there is one Lenten dish that even now few people can refuse. As you already understand, we are talking about the famous kutia, which we diligently prepare for every Christmas. Before starting the meal, you must taste a spoonful of kutya prepared by the lady of the house. After such an important ritual, you can already taste the rest of the dishes.

Traditional kutia is prepared from wheat grains, but today many people prefer to use rice for cooking. Thus, the cooking process takes much less time than in the case of wheat.

Although many of us today try to adhere to long-standing traditions formed by our ancestors. Everyone prepares kutya in their own way, but few people know the correct recipe for preparing this unusual dish. How to prepare kutia for Christmas - from rice, from wheat?

Well, in order to prepare “that very” kutia, you will have to plunge a little into the history of the formation of this tradition.

Why they wear kutya at Christmas - where the tradition came from. As we all know, according to tradition, godchildren must carry the “supper” to their godfathers and mothers. Our parents introduced us to this tradition from childhood, giving us a jar of kutia and sending us to our godparents. Since childhood, we know that it is customary to do this, but few people know where this tradition came from.

This custom originated during the Baptism of Rus'. Godparents and godchildren brought supper to each other in order to celebrate this bright holiday together. Some time ago, only blood relatives could baptize children, and therefore the supper was served only to relatives.

It is the children who should wear kutya to their godparents, as if in gratitude for the fact that they were present at their baptism. After all, godparents took responsibility for helping the child in everything throughout their life.

Over the years, traditions began to fade into the background, and therefore, now even family friends can become godparents for a child.

There is another reason for the formation of this interesting tradition. Until some time ago, wealthy peasants brought dinner to poorer families who needed such a show of mercy.

In fact, it was the church that dictated its own rules about helping one’s neighbor. By helping the poor, rich people tried to atone for their sins.

But over the years, this ritual quickly turned into an established tradition that many people followed.

Later, kutia was prepared from the best grains, which were complemented with other tasty ingredients, turning into a delicious dish.

The grain used as a basis for kutya symbolizes fertility. Honey symbolizes prosperity, and walnuts will speak of power.

Therefore, even now, bringing such a dish to your home will indicate that they wish you and your family well-being and prosperity.

The process of preparing a traditional dish (based on wheat) cannot be called simple, which means that achieving any benefits will not be possible without effort.

Kutia is prepared before Christmas and served by children on the evening of January 6th. Children personify purity and innocence, so the most sincere wishes can be heard from them.

Today, the tradition of wearing the supper still exists, but in a somewhat distorted form. After all, today kutya can be worn not only by blood relatives, but also by family friends. In addition, few people wear kutya on Christmas Eve as before.

Traditional recipe for kutia for Christmas. This Lenten dish can include various ingredients that give it a completely unusual taste. Someone even manages to add candy to kutya, but it all depends on your tastes and imagination.

We will look at the traditional recipe according to which kutia was prepared specifically for Christmas. Since this dish is festive, it will consist only of the most delicious ingredients.

On these holidays, it was impossible to skimp on kutya, so people prepared it only from the best products.

To prepare “real” kutia, we will need certain products in these proportions.

Ingredients: A glass of wheat. 100 g raisins. Half a glass of poppy seeds. 100 g walnuts. Two spoons of honey.

Preparation: The wheat must be sorted by hand, as there may be debris among it, the presence of which in the dish is unlikely to be to your liking. Pour the sorted wheat grains with cold water for about three hours so that they swell properly. If this time is not enough, you can leave the grains in water overnight. If you chose polished wheat (and did it right), then you don’t have to soak it at all.

As soon as the structure of the wheat has noticeably changed, you can safely set it to boil. For this amount of wheat we will need about three glasses of purified water. Cook the grains until they become soft.

The process of boiling poppy seeds will take no more than ten minutes, after which you should definitely strain through a fine colander. In this case, you should wait until all the water has drained.

We thoroughly wash the raisins and pour boiling water over them so that they acquire a more elastic shape. In fact, it should, having gained moisture, turn into the same grapes. The swelling process will take no more than 20 minutes.

We fry the peeled nuts in a frying pan, then peel them and cut them into smaller pieces.

Actually, the cooking process is completed by combining all the ingredients, which we season with honey. So the festive kutia is ready, which is distinguished by its unique taste.

What to fill the kutya with or what to season it with. Almost every recipe for preparing holiday kutia involves adding some kind of liquid base. Some people add plain water, while others prepare a syrup based on water and sugar. We offer the traditional option of seasoning kutya with uzvar, prepared with dried fruits.

In fact, this is the same compote, but it is prepared not from fresh fruits and berries, but from dried ones. In winter, we are unlikely to be able to find fresh fruit, so we will cook uzvar from existing preparations.

In general, a drink made from dried fruits will taste much brighter than a simple compote, so try to prepare in advance as much dried fruit as possible from a variety of berries and fruits.

To prepare uzvar, we will need several types of dried fruits (to your taste). We rinse the dryers and place them in a pan with cold water. We put the vessel on the fire, and from the moment of boiling we set it for 20 minutes. Strain the finished drink and add it to the kutia mixture, which already includes honey.

By the way, if you are partial to dried fruits, then you can supplement the kutya with chopped dried apricots, for example. The taste will be quite unusual, so it’s worth a try.

Many people are interested in the question “What exactly should I add to kutya, honey or uzvar?” Well, it all depends on your taste. Of course, kutya without honey is not kutya. Therefore, this ingredient will be mandatory in any case, but whether to add uzvar or not is up to everyone.

How to beautifully decorate kutya. Thanks to the variety of main ingredients of the dish, it looks quite interesting in itself, which means it does not require additional decorations.

Chaotically placed accents in it will be dried fruits, distinguished by rather bright colors, as well as honey, which will give the kutia a golden hue.

In general, the color scheme will be quite warm, so you should not disturb it with any additional ingredients. Honey can be added just before serving the dish so that neither its appearance nor taste is spoiled.

If you want to present such a dish in an original way, you can decorate it with pieces of nuts and dried fruits on top, creating a rhythmic composition from them. The familiar kutia will take on an unusual look that will surely attract the attention of guests.

Christmas kutia. TOP recipes - 3 from rice, wheat, pearl barley. If earlier kutia was prepared strictly according to the rules, today there are many alternative options that differ in completely different components.

In fact, some of them may even surprise you. We will look at the most interesting recipes that you may not have heard of yet.

1. Wheat kutia with candied fruits. This cooking option is close to the traditional recipe, but there are still some differences.

We prepare the following ingredients: Two glasses of wheat. Candied fruits (any). 100 g walnuts. Honey.

Cooking process: The wheat must be pre-soaked, but if you are lucky enough to purchase ground grains, you can immediately start cooking them.

The amount of honey that will be added to kutya is determined by everyone for themselves. Dissolve a certain amount of honey in warm water, then pour it over the prepared cereal.

Roast the peeled nuts and then chop them into smaller pieces. Add chopped nuts and candied fruits to the wheat. Mix the kutia, decorate to your liking, and serve.

2. Almond kutia with rice. This kutia will bear little resemblance to the traditional version, because it contains completely different ingredients.

Rice kutia is increasingly found on the festive table on Christmas Day, but few people prepared it in this form. This interesting version of kutya involves the use of the following ingredients.

Ingredients: 300 g rice. 100 g raisins and almonds. Sugar. Cinnamon.

Preparation: First of all, we need to rinse the rice grains several times so that at the end of cooking the porridge does not stick together into one layer.

So, add water to the rice and cook until fully cooked, stirring it during the cooking process. It is necessary to cook the porridge over low heat, as the rice may stick to the bottom of the pan and simply burn. Wash the boiled rice under cold water.

It is advisable to scald raisins and almonds with boiling water, after which we cut the almonds into smaller pieces. Add sugar to the water and put on low heat until it completely dissolves in the liquid, turning into syrup. You can decorate the finished dish with whole almonds.

Mix all the prepared ingredients and pour in sweet syrup. Here, in fact, the almond kutia is ready.

3. Kutya made from pearl barley. If the option with rice is quite common, then pearl barley kutia will become something completely new for you.

The main feature of this recipe is that before serving, the kutia is filled with cream. Really unusual, right?

We will need the following ingredients: 200 g of pearl barley. 150 g poppy seeds. 10 shelled walnuts. 50 g raisins. 50 ml medium fat cream. Honey.

Preparation: Boil the cereal over low heat for about an hour. Pour boiling water over poppy seeds and boil for about 20 minutes. Grind the soft poppy seeds by hand using a mortar. And we also steam the raisins in boiling water for about 15 minutes.

Add poppy seeds and nuts and raisins to the cooled cereal. Season the finished mixture with honey and stir. And just before serving, add cream. You definitely haven’t tried this kind of kutya yet.

How to cook kutia for Christmas from wheat. Wheat has a fairly dense structure, so it must be soaked in advance, otherwise it will cook for an indefinite amount of time.

Therefore, fill the grains with water and leave overnight. The next morning you will notice that the grains have increased in size, and there is significantly less water in the pan.

Add the missing amount of water and put it on fire. We need to monitor the cooking process so that the wheat does not boil completely, since we need whole grains. It's a matter of aesthetic presentation here.

There are a lot of options for preparing kutya, so there is plenty to choose from. Although their components may change in different recipes, the proportions will remain approximately the same.

You can even develop your own version of the kutia recipe from the products you love most.

Kutia is considered a traditional Christmas dish, so don’t deny yourself the pleasure of preparing this delicacy yourself.

Now we know some cooking secrets that will help us get the answer to the question “How to cook kutia for Christmas - from rice, from wheat?”

How to cook kutya for Christmas from rice. In general, this option for preparing kutia is much simpler than the recipe using wheat. The fact is that rice cooks much faster, and it also does not require pre-soaking.

As a rule, for every glass of rice there are two glasses of water. After several washes, the rice is immediately filled with water and put on fire.

In order for the water to boil faster, set the heat to maximum, and only after boiling, reduce it to medium.

On average, rice takes about 20 minutes to cook, so try to keep an eye on the time. After all, it may happen that the rice is completely boiled, turning into puree. And to prepare kutya we need whole rice grains.

Be happy!