Christmas is just around the corner, lets talk about food. I will start series of Polish traditional recipes for Christmas Eve.
One of the twelve traditional meals served during a Polish Christmas Eve Supper is always "Kutia". (The tradition of serving Kutia is spread to other Easter Europe countries as well.) Here is the recipe from the "Ukrainian Daughter’s Cookbook" from the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada, Daughters of Ukraine Branch, Regina, Saskatoon. There are more complicated versions of "Kutia", but the basic recipe is the same. It should be sweet. The wheat celebrates the staff of life and the honey represents the spirit of Christ. 2 cups wheat
3 quarts water
1 cup poppy seed
2/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup honey, dissolved in ¾ cup hot water
½ cup chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans
3 quarts water
1 cup poppy seed
2/3 cup of sugar
1/3 cup honey, dissolved in ¾ cup hot water
½ cup chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans
- Dry the wheat in an oven at 250 F for one hour, stirring occasionally. Wash and soak in cold water overnight.
- Next morning, bring wheat to the boiling point; simmer for 3 to 4 hours, until the kernels burst open.
- Scald the poppy seed and simmer 3 to 5 minutes. Drain and grind with either a mortar and pestle or a food processor using the finest setting. Set aside.
- Combine honey and sugar in hot water. Set aside.
- Before serving, add the sweetened mixture, poppy seed and the nuts to cooled, boiled wheat.
So long friends,
Evalina
I hope you find your ingredients and can enjoy your traditional meal.
ReplyDeleteI was going to make exactly the same comment as Minnie! I hope you can find your ingredients to make this and have happy memories!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness I love that you're doing this. DH's Nona made so many traditional Polish dishes in honor of her husband, and we don't have the recipes anymore...I'm hoping you get to gwumpkes (?), but just seeing the poppyseeds brought some wonderful memories back. Good luck finding your ingredients!
ReplyDeleteyup..good luck for finding the ingredients xx
ReplyDeleteThat looks yummy. Good luck with the ingredients!
ReplyDeleteEvalina, this brings back wonderful memories of Christmas Eve at my aunt's house. She married a Ukrainian man and his mother taught my aunt all the traditional (and family) recipes. While there are probably some differences in individual dishes, I'm sure the meaning behind the feast is the same. Thanks.
ReplyDelete