Travel.LovePoland December 2020

(sometimes called kutya) is one of the
Kutia
popular dishes during Christmas, present
most
both Catholic and Orthodox tables.
on
kutia is not prepared in every region
Although
Poland, because its origin is typical for the
of
parts of the country and the
eastern
it is one of the most basic dishes
borderlands,
the Polish Christmas Eve style.
of
kutia
The way it is prepared has changed over the decades. I
remember my mother, who often prepared wheat with
my help for many days – it had to be soaked thoroughly
and then, after placing it in a cotton sack, carefully
cleaned by hitting the sack for hours with a wooden
hammer. Today, although it is easy to buy carefully
cleaned wheat in a store, its taste remains largely
unchanged.
Simply put, kutia is a combination of wheat and poppy
seeds with nuts and dried fruits, sweetened with honey.
However, its significance at Christmas is considerable.
In the Slavic folk tradition, the poppy was a plant that
allowed people to cross the border between life and
death. Kutia, i.e. the combination of wheat with the
addition of honey and poppy seeds, symbolically linked
the past with the future and emphasized the passing of
time on Earth. In Christian legends, poppy flowers were
supposed to grow in places where drops of the blood of
the crucified Christ fell.
Since ancient times, honey has been considered a magical
substance in which supernatural powers reside. It was
believed that it protects against evil, provides joy and
abundance. Consumed on Christmas Eve, it was to ensure
the favour of supernatural forces, as well as prosperity
and long life.
Kutia is boiled in water until soft, preferably so that it
solidifies together with the rest of the stock into one
mass after cooking. The cooked kutia is combined with
boiled, three-time-ground poppy seeds, honey, raisins and
chopped walnuts. And this is the secret, because just like
in the rest of the world, there are no two identical
snowflakes - there aren't two identical kutia either. Each
housewife prepares it in her own way, has her own secret;
so the final outcomes of kutia can differ with consistency,
sweetness, amount of dried fruit, thickness of chopping
nuts. Gourmets say that the first choice begins with the
decision which honey to use: whether the safest one, i.e.
multi-flower, or, for example, buckwheat or lime.
ingredients:
Ingredients for approx. 1.5 litre
150g of poppy seeds (can be ground)
½ cup of wheat for kutia (without husks)
½ cup of honey (or more if you like)
130g of nuts, preferably mixed (= 1 cup)
60g peeled, chopped almonds (= ½ cup)
60g raisins (½ cup)
50g of candied orange peel
4 dried figs
milk for blanching poppy seeds (approx. 500ml)
preparation:
Rinse the kutia wheat, pour water over it and leave it to soak
overnight.
Pour hot milk over the poppy seeds (a little more milk than to cover).
Cover the pot with poppy seeds and milk with a plate and let it cool.
The next day, drain the wheat, pour fresh water and cook until
tender. (It takes approx. 30 minutes or longer depending on the
grains. After cooking, wheat should be tender but not overcooked.
Drain and cool.
Drain the poppy seeds in a sieve lined with muslin or a cloth and
squeeze well. If it is not ground, grind it at least twice in a meat
grinder using a fine mesh strainer. (The ground poppy seeds are
ready, after pressing, for further preparation).
Chop the nuts.
Add honey to the poppy seeds and mix. Add chopped nuts, almonds,
raisins, chopped orange zest and diced figs. Finally, stir in the wheat.
If necessary, add more honey to taste. Chill kutia in the refrigerator
before serving.
121 TRAVEL.LOVEPOLAND