KutiaKutia celebrates the richness of the land and preceding year's harvest and is only served at Ukrainian religious ceremonies of the greatest importance. While traditionally made with whole wheat berries, it can also be successfully constructed with any number of other cooked whole grains, such as spelt, emmer (farro), or Khorasan wheat (marketed under the trademarked name 'Kamut'). We actually ran out of wheat berries, and used Khorasan wheat when making the batch of Kutia illustrated below. It tasted great.
There is one special piece of equipment that we use when making our Kutia. All recipes call for ground poppy seed, and typically give directions that involve soaking poppy seeds in a hot liquid and then grinding in a food processor or blender. We find this approach simply does not work because the small size of poppy seeds does not allow them to be ground by the spinning blades. We ultimately ordered a hand-cranked poppy seed mill from Lehman Hardware in Dalton, Ohio. The current price is $30, plus shipping, although it is now being sold as a flax-seed mill.
We love the ground poppy seed paste that comes from ours, as the flavor is so much fresher than anything you can get out of a can. Serves 8 1½ dry wheat berries (or other whole grain) Place wheat berries and water into a pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook over low heat until the wheat is very tender, at least 3 hours. Make sure there is at least 1 inch of water covering the wheat berries at all times. A crock-pot set on low heat works very well for this step. Grind poppy seeds. Toast slivered almonds on a baking sheet for 3-5 minutes in a 350° F oven until light golden brown. Drain the cooked wheat, reserving ½ cup of the cooking liquid. Add honey to the reserved liquid and mix well. Mix all ingredients together and bake uncovered in a 325° F oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, cover, and let sit for another 15 minutes. Top with a dusting of ground cinnamon. May be served either hot or cold. |
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