Rice and raisins for a funeral. How to properly cook kutya from rice with raisins

At Christmas, as well as at funerals, they prepare kutya (sochivo, kolivo), only they differ slightly in the composition of the products. For Christmas, kutya is often prepared from wheat with honey, poppy seeds and nuts, and for funerals - from rice with raisins, often adding nuts, candied fruits, various dried fruits, honey, and so on. So, today we have funeral kutia from rice with raisins: a recipe with a photo, then we will look at several options for preparing kuti for a funeral (koliva), and recipes for making cereals, in particular millet (for Christmas). All recipes are very tasty, choose what you like. From rice, kutia is softer and more tender, it is more suitable for children and old people, but from wheat it needs to be well boiled, it is somewhat heavy for a delicate stomach, but very tasty and satisfying.

It has long been customary, when a loved one dies, to arrange a wake after the funeral, after 9 days, and also after 40 days. The first dish of the funeral table is kolivo or kutya made from rice with various additives. It is placed on the table first, and it is also tasted first. Well-cooked kutia is tasty, tender, aromatic and juicy, depending on how you cook it and what products you add to it.

What does funeral kutia mean?

When a person dies, the task of loved ones is to prayerfully support him and help console his soul. To do this, people gather around the table, say prayers, remember the deceased, his virtues (it’s either good or not good about the dead - that’s what our ancestors said, because bad words will bring harm to his soul). Kutya, which is the first to be placed on the table, symbolizes the immortality of the deceased, the resurrection of their souls from the dead, and the spiritual benefits of eternity.

Kutya is usually prepared sweet, honey, raisins are always added to it, and other products are optional - nuts, prunes, dried apricots, and so on. If kutia is prepared for a funeral and it is not a fast day, milk, butter, cream, poppy seeds are added to it, and it is often prepared with dried fruit uzvar, which is cooked for Christmas. Kutya can be cooked both in a cauldron and in a slow cooker, it turns out crumbly and tasty, set it to Buckwheat/Rice mode, everything else is the same as in a cauldron.

Rice kutia with raisins, simple recipe

For the funeral, you need to prepare kutya (kolivo) from rice, add raisins and honey to it, the rest is up to your wishes and financial capabilities. The better quality the rice is chosen, the more components are included in the composition, the tastier and juicier it is. The main thing is not to overcook it or turn it into a mush, add everything in the right order.

Products:

1. 1.2 liters of water
2. 600g round rice
3. 200g raisins
4. 3-4 spoons of honey

How to cook kutya (kolivo):

Be sure to thoroughly rinse the rice several times using running water. Pour rice into a thick-walled casserole, pour boiling water, add a little salt and set to cook. After boiling, simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes. During this time, wash the raisins, steam with a little boiling water to soften, and drain the water.

Pour a little hot water into the honey, dissolve it there, mix with raisins. Open the lid, pour in the contents, mix and cover for about 10 minutes. Then you can open the cauldron and cool thoroughly. Serve heaped on a plate and garnish with raisins.

This is the simplest recipe for funeral kutia; we’ll tell you how it can be improved and made tastier and more beautiful in the next recipe.

Adviсe:

• To prevent the grains of rice from sticking together, pour a spoonful of odorless vegetable oil or a piece of butter into the water when you cook;
• for the same purpose, you can pour in more water, and after cooking, rinse through a colander with water;
• If you doubt that rice can stick together, take long-grain rice, it definitely won’t stick together, but kutia tastes better with round rice.

Kutya with rice, dried fruits and nuts

This is a more interesting kutia recipe, richer in taste, brighter and richer.

Products:

• rice 1 cup;
• water 2 glasses;
• a handful of raisins;
• a handful of prunes;
• a handful of dried apricots;
• a handful of nuts;
• poppy seed 2 tablespoons;
• honey to taste;
• you can also add poppy seeds.

How to cook:

So, cook the rice as in the first recipe, prepare the rest of the ingredients in advance. Fry the nuts a little in a frying pan and chop them. Pour boiling water over the dried fruits, let them steam, then drain the water and chop finely. Dilute honey with warm water. Drop a little warm water into the poppy seed, let it sit, then add a little sugar and grind it well with a mortar until it becomes white foam. Now mix everything and the dressing for kutia is ready. (Yes, leave some dried fruits and nuts for decoration).

Once the rice is ready, add everything to it, mix and leave to cool. Then place in a heap in a dish, sprinkle nuts and chopped dried fruits on top, and serve.

Christmas kutia (sochivo) made from wheat

Our family’s favorite has always been this one, real wheat kutia, which we happily prepare before every Christmas, and then spend several days finishing it, smacking our lips with pleasure. You can’t eat a lot of it, it’s very filling, so don’t cook too much.

Products:

• 0.5 liter jar of wheat (usually exfoliated wheat is specially sold on the market for this purpose);
• 1.5 liters of water;
• a bag of poppy seeds;
• a couple of guests of nuts;
• a bag of raisins;
• honey to taste.

How to cook juicy:

So, the wheat was washed, poured with water and set to cook like regular porridge.
Chop the nuts (it’s tastier to fry them a little in the oven), dilute the honey with warm water, steam the raisins, grind the poppy seeds with a drop of water and sugar until white. Mix everything and the dressing is ready.

Boil the wheat very well so that the grains open up, otherwise it will be difficult to eat. When the wheat is cooked (it will still be semi-liquid), you can leave it to cool. I usually don’t season it all, so as not to sour, I take as much as necessary from the cauldron, add dried fruits to the soup (I like it to be in the soup, someone makes it thick, like colivo), add honey, poppy seeds, nuts, raisins (you can and without raisins), I dilute it to the desired sweetness and leave it for half an hour so that the wheat grains are well soaked. And that’s it - the treat is ready, invite your household to kutya - it’s delicious!

Cooked by Olga Bar

Kutia is a Lenten dish that is usually prepared for Christmas Eve or for a funeral table. Today it is also prepared from rice and pearl barley. It is believed that the more satisfying the dish, the more successful the next year will be. You can cook rice kutia in several ways, but for good taste you must consider the following recommendations.

How to cook kutya from rice with raisins - features of the dish

• The main ingredient for kutya is cereal. Usually it is boiled, but the grains should remain intact, and the porridge itself should be crumbly.
• The most delicate taste is obtained from a dish made from rice with raisins. It is quite easy to prepare, which is why this version of kutia is the most popular.
• Before cooking rice, it must be thoroughly washed to remove starch and rice flour. Then boil until fully cooked. There is no need to pre-soak the cereal.
• Syrup is first made from sugar and honey, and then added to rice. Honey can not be diluted, but added ready-made to cereals.
• Dried fruits are first steamed, then dried, cut into pieces and then added to rice.
• The finished kutya is transferred to a small bowl. The top of the dish is usually decorated with nuts or raisins.

How to cook kutya from rice with raisins in a pan

Kutya is usually cooked with sweet syrup and raisins. It’s not difficult to prepare, the main thing is to carefully study the recipe and strictly follow it.

Ingredients for the dish:

• polished rice - 1 tbsp.;
• cold water – 2 tbsp.;
• raisins – 150 gr.;
• butter (not softened) – 40 g;
• sugar, salt - to taste.

Cooking recipe:

• Rice grains must be rinsed well until the water runs clear. It is most convenient to do this using a sieve, but you can rinse the cereal in a plate.

• Place the rice in a saucepan and add cold water. If you use boiling water for cooking, then the volume of water must be reduced by a quarter.

• When the rice starts to boil, add salt. After half the liquid has boiled away, cover the pan with a lid, reduce the heat and cook the cereal until tender.

• You should have crumbly cereal cooked. Leave it to cool to room temperature.

• Meanwhile, pour boiling water over the raisins and leave for 5-10 minutes to steam. After the specified time, drain the water and place it on a paper towel. This will allow excess moisture to be absorbed into the napkin.

• Raisins with sugar must be fried in a frying pan. Add only butter to them. If you are preparing a lean dish, then omit this process. In this case, dissolve the sugar in boiling water and simply add to the rice.

• When frying, carefully monitor the sugar level. It should melt and take on a light caramel color.

• Add sweet raisins to the rice and mix well.
• Serve kutya to the table in small portions in small bowls. For convenience, you need to place a teaspoon nearby.

How to cook kutya from rice with raisins in a slow cooker

The multicooker has already become one of the main assistants in the kitchen. With its help, you can easily and quickly prepare a funeral dish.

You will need the following products:

• rice groats – 2 tbsp;
• cold water – 4 tbsp.;
• raisins – 300 gr.;
• honey - 2 tbsp. l.

Work progress:

• The main feature of cooking in a slow cooker is compliance with the specified proportions. Therefore, for fluffy rice, you need to strictly follow the instructions.
• Rinse the cereal in cold water and place in a bowl. Pour water.

Important! For a multicooker, a special measuring cup is used, which may differ in volume from a regular container.

• Close the lid, open the top hole and turn on the multicooker to the “Rice” mode. This function provides a recipe for preparing this particular cereal. But if you don’t have it, then select the “Porridge” mode.
• While the porridge is cooking, rinse the raisins under running water and then steam them with boiling water. If desired, you can use any dried fruit with it.
• In a separate container, dilute the honey with warm water or melt it in a water bath.

Important! Do not dilute honey with boiling water. Otherwise, all the beneficial properties of the product will be lost. It is also not recommended to heat honey in a microwave oven.

• Add raisins to cooked rice, then pour in honey and stir thoroughly. Transfer the finished dish to a small plate and serve.

• Rice porridge should not look like a sticky mass. Therefore, when preparing it, follow the proportions of water and use long-grain rice for cooking.
• If you first briefly soak the rice in boiling water, the grains will turn out soft and juicy.
• For kutia, honey is used only in liquid form. The candied product must first be melted. To preserve the beneficial properties, do this in a water bath.
• Large raisins and dried fruits can be cut into small pieces or strips.

To make the kutia tasty and beautiful, it is important to adhere to the specified proportions. This is not so difficult to do, the main thing is to carefully study the recipe. Bon appetit!

For another recipe for a funeral dish with rice and raisins, watch the video:

Description

Rice kutia- one of the traditional ritual holiday dishes in Rus'. The very name of this porridge is already closely associated with the Christmas holidays. Porridge, like the tradition of preparing it for Christmas and other Orthodox holidays, came to our religion from paganism.

There are a lot of recipes for preparing kutya, as well as its names. The number of ingredients and their purpose remain unchanged. Thus, the very grain from which porridge is prepared represents the essence of life and its cycle. The sweet ingredient is responsible for the pleasure and pleasure of this very life. And the final element, be it poppy or raisins, is added as a symbol of prosperity and fertility. Kutya is prepared exclusively at home.

Our step-by-step recipe with photos will tell you how to prepare traditional and delicious kutya from rice with raisins and dried apricots. Nothing extra is ever added to such porridge; its very essence lies in such traditional preparation. You can only replace certain ingredients.

A couple of centuries ago, kutya was prepared from wheat and honey, poppy seeds or nuts were added, and raisins were often added. Kutya made from rice with dried fruits will turn out no worse: raisins and dried apricots will imbue the rice with their aroma and taste, and honey will make the porridge moderately sweet and tender.

Let's start cooking.

Ingredients

• 
  Polished short grain rice
  (1 tbsp.)
• 
  (2.5 tbsp.)
• 
  (1 tsp)
• 
  (2 tbsp.)
• 
  (100 g)
• 
  (100 g)

Cooking steps

Most often, kutya is prepared exclusively with raisins, but to diversify the recipe, we will add some bright and juicy dried apricots to it. Sort the raisins and get rid of all kinds of branches and compactions.



Cut the dried apricots into small pieces to match the raisins.



Rinse the rice several times, dry it and place it on the bottom of a deep pan.



Pour the specified amount of water into the pan, add salt.



Bring the liquid in a saucepan to a boil over medium heat. cook for another 10 minutes.



After this, add prepared raisins and dried apricots to the bubbling liquid.



Pour a spoonful of liquid honey into the pan.



Cover the porridge with a lid and remove from heat. Let the kutia brew for 10-15 minutes.



After this, thoroughly mix all the ingredients directly in the pan with a fork or spoon.



Place the finished dish into small bowls and serve. Rice kutia with raisins, honey and dried apricots is ready.



Bon appetit!

The tradition of cooking kutia originated in ancient Greece. After Prince Vladimir converted to Christianity in Rus', Byzantine clergy came there and brought with them a new custom - to remember the dead with kutya. In the Orthodox faith, kutia is a symbol of eternal life and resurrection. It was believed that just as grains falling into the ground turned into living plants, so the deceased, being buried, acquired eternal life. Honey (or other sweets) in this porridge symbolizes the spiritual peace that awaits the deceased in heaven. For this reason, kutia is an integral part of the wake. They bring it in a deep common bowl, which is placed in the center of the table. According to the rules, kutia is served on the 9th, 40th day, for six months and for a year.

How to eat kutya correctly:

• Kutia is always tasted first of all dishes on the table;
• Each guest must eat at least three spoons of this porridge;
• You can use a spoon or eat with your hands;
• You cannot eat kutya with sharp objects, such as a knife or forks;
• Before serving, it is advisable to consecrate the kutya in church or sprinkle it yourself with holy water;
• Before tasting kutya, pray and ask for the Kingdom of Heaven for the deceased;
• It is imperative to finish all the kutya without leaving a single spoon. Because this porridge should absolutely not be thrown away;
• Kutia is served cooled.

Rules for preparing funeral kutia

You can cook kutya from different grains: barley, rice, wheat. It is important that the cereals are whole grains and not crushed. Traditionally, rice kutia is prepared for funeral dates. Kutya should turn out sweet and tasty. To do this, you can add raisins, prunes, dried apricots, honey, sugar, poppy seeds, candied fruits and various nuts to it. Kutya is prepared in a cauldron or cast iron. Before serving, the porridge is decorated with candied fruits, poppy seeds, nuts or marmalade.

Recipe for kutya from rice with walnuts and dried fruits

Ingredients:

• 0.5 cups rice;
• 2 glasses of clean water;
• 50-100 gr. prunes, poppy seeds, raisins, candied fruits - at your discretion;
• 3 tablespoons honey;
• 60 gr. walnuts.

Preparation:

We wash half a glass of rice under running water and fill it with two cups of clean water. We put it to cook in a cauldron, or other thick-walled pan, on the stove. Sweet ingredients (except honey, of course) are soaked in boiling water for about an hour. Poppy seeds are soaked in the same way, in a separate container. After which it is filtered through a strainer and crushed in a mortar or using a blender until white milk appears. Walnuts are roasted in a frying pan. Ready rice is mixed with honey, poppy seeds and some of the sweet ingredients. With the rest, we decorate the kutya in a plate at our discretion.

Recipe for rice kutya with almonds and raisins

Ingredients:

• 100 gr. rice;
• 400 ml. water;
• 100 gr. raisins;
• 3 tbsp. l. honey;
• Candied fruits to taste;
• 50 g almonds.

Preparation:

Rinse the rice with water seven times. Pour it into a saucepan, add water according to the recipe, add a little salt, and cook until tender. When the rice is ready, you can pour cool water over it to keep it fluffy. Pour the cooled rice into a bowl and add raisins, which are pre-steamed for 20 minutes with boiling water and dried. After that, pour honey into the rice with raisins and gently knead. Decorate the finished porridge with almonds and candied fruits of your choice.

Rice kutia with raisins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice cereal;
• 4 glasses of water;
• Boneless raisins;
• Butter and olive oil;
• Salt and sugar to taste.

Wash the rice in seven waters until the water is completely transparent. We sort the raisins and soak them in boiling water. In a separate saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. When the water has boiled, pour the washed rice into it and place it in the oven set at 200 degrees. Simmer our rice in the oven for about 20 minutes. At this time, put butter and a little olive oil in a heated frying pan. Olive oil prevents the burning process and preserves flavors. Pour strained steamed raisins on top. Add 5 teaspoons of water and a couple of teaspoons of sugar. Stir and simmer our raisins with sugar for several minutes. The finished rice is mixed with sweet raisins and served. To ensure that the rice base of the kutya does not end up sticky, use these tips:

• Choose elongated rice that remains fluffy after cooking;
• Pay attention to the price - good cereal costs more;
• Rice sold in cooking bags turns out fluffy 99% of the time;
• Be sure to rinse the cereal thoroughly before cooking to remove sticky dust.

As you can see, the process of preparing kutya does not take much time. There are many recipes with different cereals, but traditionally for funerals kutia is made from rice. The most important thing is to cook it with love and good thoughts. By the way, at the end of any of these recipes you can pour uzvar from dried fruits, this will make the finished kutia more aromatic. As we know, kutya cannot be thrown away, so if there is any left, you can eat it in the morning, one spoon at a time, over the next two days.

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 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 at one table of Christ's disciples, 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 confirmation 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 from the dead, 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 this 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.