Home recipe kuchnia polska

Kutia wigilijna

Name: Kutia wigilijna
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 730 min
Cuisine: kuchnia polska
Ingredients: 250 g pszenica na kutię (obłuskana); 250 g mak niebieski mielony (albo 360 g maku całego, zob. wskazówki); 200 g miód płynny; 100 g orzechy włoskie; 100 g migdały blanszowane; 80 g rodzynki; 30 g kandyzowana skórka pomarańczowa; 50 g suszone morele albo figi (opcjonalnie, pokrojone w paski); 0.5 pc laska wanilii (opcjonalnie, same ziarenka); 1 pc pomarańcza (opcjonalnie, sama otarta skórka); 100 ml słodka śmietanka 30% (opcjonalnie, 100–150 ml)

Christmas kutia made from wheat, poppy seeds, and honey with nuts, almonds, and dried fruits, served cold. Includes tips on how to cook wheat bought abroad and how to avoid bitter or watery kutia.

Servings: 10 servings
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 12 h 10 min
Difficulty: Easy

Domowa kutia z pszenicy i maku w białej misce, udekorowana płatkami migdałów i kandyzowaną skórką, na obrusie w śnieżynki

The story behind the recipe

Kutia comes from Ukrainian, Belarusian, Russian, and Lithuanian cuisine, as well as from the borderland tradition of Polish cuisine. According to Wikipedia, it is made today in the Białystok region, Lublin region, and in the border counties of Podkarpacie, as well as in families of resettlers from across the Bug River. It is one of the twelve Christmas dishes and is eaten throughout the holidays, until New Year’s. The name derives from the Ukrainian word that comes from the Greek "kókkos," meaning grain, and folk etymology connects it with "kuta," meaning a corner. In Podlasie, it was also called kucja. Kutia was also eaten during Dziady (a traditional Slavic holiday) and at wakes.

The Ministry of Agriculture's pages on Christmas traditions from 2018 describe how it was eaten in Lublin: "As the first dish, kutia was eaten while standing, so that the back wouldn’t hurt that year." The host would scoop a generous spoonful of kutia and throw it against the ceiling, while young men and women would step out with a spoon of kutia onto the threshold of the house and listen for a dog barking, as that was where the future spouse was supposed to come from. Only after kutia would they move on to the other dishes.

In Podlasie, according to the same ministry pages, kutia was made from barley with poppy seeds and honey. Over time, barley was replaced with wheat, and dried fruits were added. In the past, wheat was hulled by hand: slightly damp grains were pounded in a linen bag with a wooden pestle, and hulling a kilogram took 15–30 minutes. Kutia, once known only in the borderlands, is now made all over Poland.

Ingredients

Kutia

250 g pszenica na kutię (obłuskana)
Abroad: USA, Kanada: wheat berries; Niemcy: Weizenkörner (gotują się dłużej)
250 g mak niebieski mielony (albo 360 g maku całego, zob. wskazówki)
Abroad: Niemcy, Austria: Blaumohn
200 g miód płynny
100 g orzechy włoskie
Abroad: walnuts
100 g migdały blanszowane
Abroad: blanched almonds
80 g rodzynki
30 g kandyzowana skórka pomarańczowa
Abroad: candied orange peel
50 g suszone morele albo figi (opcjonalnie, pokrojone w paski)
0.5 pc laska wanilii (opcjonalnie, same ziarenka)
1 pc pomarańcza (opcjonalnie, sama otarta skórka)

Do podania

100 ml słodka śmietanka 30% (opcjonalnie, 100–150 ml)
Abroad: USA: heavy cream; Wielka Brytania: double cream; Niemcy: Schlagsahne

Method, step by step

The night before, rinse the wheat in a sieve, transfer it to a bowl, cover with 2 cups of water, and leave uncovered for 8–10 hours, preferably overnight.
Drain the soaked wheat, cover with 4 cups of fresh water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat so that the water barely simmers, slightly cover, and cook for about 30–35 minutes, until the grains are soft. Taste every few minutes, as some batches may need more time. Cook whole grains (wheat berries) for 60–90 minutes.
Drain the cooked wheat and set aside to cool completely.
Place the ground poppy seeds in a pot, cover with a cup of water, bring to a boil, and cook on low heat for no more than 3 minutes. Set aside for a few minutes, then transfer to a clean cloth or cheesecloth and drain. The poppy seeds should remain slightly moist; do not squeeze them dry. If you have whole poppy seeds, prepare them as described in the tips.
Add honey to the drained poppy seeds and mix well. Liquid honey combines with the poppy seeds more easily than crystallized honey.
Place the nuts and almonds in boiling water for 2–3 minutes, drain, and chop coarsely. Cut the apricots or figs into strips, and if the candied orange peel is in large pieces, chop it finely.
To the cooled wheat, add the poppy seed mixture with honey and mix. Add the nuts, almonds, raisins, candied orange peel, apricots or figs, and if using, the vanilla seeds and grated orange peel. Mix and taste; if needed, add more honey or dried fruits.
Transfer the kutia to a glass container, cover, and place in the fridge for a few hours, preferably overnight. Kutia tastes best after cooling.
Serve cold in bowls or dessert cups. If you like, drizzle each serving with a bit of sweet cream or garnish with almond flakes and orange segments.

Tips

Bitter kutia. The ground poppy seeds were old. Buy ground poppy seeds with the longest shelf life. Whole poppy seeds, ground at home, taste fresher.

Whole poppy seeds instead of ground. Take 360 g of poppy seeds, pour 3 cups of water over them, bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes on low heat. Strain through a fine sieve and leave for 20 minutes to cool and drain, then grind it twice in a grinder with the finest sieve. In a blender, it will come out more like a paste than ground seeds.

Watery kutia. The poppy seeds were not well drained. Drain them through a clean cloth or cheesecloth.

Dry kutia. Add a bit of sweet cream or buttermilk and mix.

Hard wheat. Some batches of wheat need more than 35 minutes. Taste the grains every few minutes and cook until soft.

Taste. The final taste of kutia develops only after cooling, so try it again after a few hours in the fridge and sweeten with honey or add dried fruits if needed.

Other versions. Instead of wheat, you can use barley, as was done in Podlasie. For a gluten-free kutia, use brown rice, millet, or gluten-free oat groats; you will need about 550–600 g of cooked groats. Dried cranberries, dates, figs, and apricots also pair well with dried fruits, and some people add rum and orange juice.

Storage. In a glass container, covered, kutia lasts at least seven days in the fridge. It can be made a day in advance.

Abroad. Polish "wheat for kutia" is hulled and cooks for 30–35 minutes. In the USA and Canada, you can buy wheat berries, and in Germany, Weizenkörner: these whole grains with bran cook longer, about 60–90 minutes, and in a pressure cooker about 45 minutes. Unsoaked wheat berries need an hour of cooking covered or more. Instead of wheat, you can use barley (pearl barley, in Germany Perlgraupen) or spelt (spelt berries, Dinkelkörner). Poppy seeds: in Germany and Austria, look for Blaumohn. In the USA, sweetened poppy seed filling is sold in cans (poppy seed filling, for example, Solo), often with glucose-fructose syrup; if you use it, clearly reduce the amount of honey. Grind whole poppy seeds from the spice shelf at home, in a grinder or blender. Sweet cream 30%: in the USA heavy cream, in the UK double cream, in Germany Schlagsahne.

Photos

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