Kutia Recipe (Sweet Wheat Berry Pudding)
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Kutia (Kutya) is a traditional Christmas wheat berry pudding. It is popular in Ukraine and various other parts of Eastern Europe. It’s a very special dish that is served on Christmas eve. We couldn’t post it in time for December 24th, but at least it will be in time for the European Christmas on January 7th :). Don’t forget to pin this for next year!
My husband has been on a mission to make the perfect Kutia recipe. He’s tested several versions over the past few years trying to re-create what he enjoyed in his childhood and we fell in love with this one. It’s sweetened with milk and honey and has a perfect balance of fruit, nuts, and poppyseeds. This recipe requires some overnight prep so you definitely want to read through it before you begin.
Ingredients for Kutia:
1 1/2 cups wheat berries (we used Hard White Winter Wheat Berries)
4 1/2 cups of milk (or water, but milk tastes better)
3/4 cups poppy seeds
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup raisins
2/3 cup dry apricots, chopped
2/3 cup slivered almonds (or chopped walnuts)
1/8 tsp salt
How to Make Wheat Berry Pudding (Kutia):
1. Rinse wheat berries in cold water until water runs clear, then transfer to a bowl and soak overnight in lukewarm water, adding enough water to cover 2-inches above the wheat berries.
2. The following day, drain wheat berries, place them in a medium-sized heavy pot, cover with 4 1/2 cups of milk and bring everything to a boil over high heat. When milk starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer until wheat berries are very tender, 3 1/2 – 4 hours, depending on the quality of the wheat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add more milk if needed to keep the wheat berries fully submerged (If you simmer over low heat, you won’t have to add anymore milk).
3. While the wheat berries are on the stove, rinse 3/4 cups of poppy seeds thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve, drain well, and transfer to a medium sauce pan and add 3 cups water. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer (Don’t boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 min. Return to a simmer (don’t boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes. Drain poppy seeds well through a colander or by keeping lid on and placing several layers of cheese cloth over lid to catch stray poppy seeds. Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder, using the fine grinding plate.
(You can also mill the poppy seeds in batches in a clean coffee grinder). Click HERE for the detail pictures of the poppy-seed making process.
4. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spread 2/3 cups of slivered almonds on a baking sheet and toast them for 5 minutes. Set them aside and reduce temperature to 325˚F.
5. When wheat berries get very tender, drain off the milk in a glass measuring cup. Keep 1/2 cup of the cooked milk and discard the rest. Combine 1/2 cup of honey with 1/2 cup of saved milk and stir until combined.
6. Place cooked wheat berries in a mixing bowl, add ground poppy seeds, 1/2 cup raisins, 2/3 cup dry chopped apricots, 2/3 cup toasted slivered almonds, honey-milk mixture and 1/8 tsp salt. Mix everything together and place in an casserole or pie dish, than bake your kutia for 20 minutes uncovered at 325˚F.
7. Remove kutia from the oven, cover with foil and let it rest 15 min. Serve warm or cold. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have. Kutia will last in the fridge for a good 2 weeks.
Credits: Poppyseed mixture instructions from our Poppyseed filling recipe. Recipe also adapted from Grandma Galina in church and the Cookbook, Please to the Table by Anya Von Bremzen & John Welchman.
Kutia Recipe (Sweet Wheat Berry Pudding)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Rinse wheat berries in cold water until water runs clear, then transfer to a bowl and soak overnight in lukewarm water, adding enough water to cover 2-inches above the wheat berries.
- The following day, drain wheat berries, place them in a medium-sized heavy pot, cover with 4 1/2 cups of milk and bring everything to a boil over high heat. When milk starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer until wheat berries are very tender, 3 1/2 - 4 hours, depending on the quality of the wheat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Add more milk if needed to keep the wheat berries fully submerged (If you simmer over low heat, you won't have to add anymore milk).
- While the wheat berries are on the stove, rinse 3/4 cups of poppy seeds thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve, drain well, and transfer to a medium sauce pan and add 3 cups water. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer (Don’t boil). Turn off. Cover with lid and let it sit for 30 min. Return to a simmer (don’t boil). Turn off. Cover and let it sit for another 30 minutes. Drain poppy seeds well through a colander or by keeping lid on and placing several layers of cheese cloth over lid to catch stray poppy seeds. Push the poppy seeds through a food grinder, using the fine grinding plate (You can also mill the poppy seeds in batches in a clean coffee grinder).
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Spread 2/3 cups of slivered almonds on a baking sheet and toast them for 5 minutes. Set them aside and reduce temperature to 325˚F.
- When wheat berries get very tender, drain off the milk in a glass measuring cup. Keep 1/2 cup of the cooked milk and discard the rest. Combine 1/2 cup of honey with 1/2 cup of saved milk and stir until combined.
- Place cooked wheat berries in a mixing bowl, add ground poppy seeds, 1/2 cup raisins, 2/3 cup dry chopped apricots, 2/3 cup toasted slivered almonds, honey-milk mixture and 1/8 tsp salt. Mix everything together and place in an casserole or pie dish, than bake your kutia for 20 min uncovered at 325˚F.
- Remove kutia from the oven, cover with foil and let it rest 15 min. Serve warm or cold. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have. Kutia will last in the fridge for a good 2 weeks.
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
* These pyrex glass bowls are perfect for mixing and serving.
* Having a variety of glass measuring cups is essential.
* The OXO strainers are wonderful for sifting, straining, rinsing, etc.
* This utensil set sits right next to my stove. It gets used – alot!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Cooking in milk didn’t work for me, the milk curdled badly and the wheat grains were all covered with residue. I think cooking in water is a must. Growing up in Ukraine, we never cooked in milk and therefore I wanted to try. I didn’t like this recipe at all.
I’m sorry to hear that. It sounds like you possibly over-heated the milk. When milk starts to boil, reduce heat to low, cover with lid and simmer until wheat berries are very tender, 3 1/2 – 4 hours is how long it took for me.
Hi Natasha – I made this kutia for todays Christmas festivities. It was great when it came out of the oven on Thursday, but we tried it yesterday from the fridge and the grains have hardened. Is there a trick to soften them again?
Hi Inga, nearly all grains will harden in the fridge. I would suggest re-warming it to soften up the grains again.
I use ‘shelled wheat’. Have never tried boiling it in milk. I do soak it overnight like you do yours. It turns out so much, much better than the wheat berries. It is soft and doesn’t get hard after a few days like the wheat berries.
Hi Natasha,
I am making your Kutia recipe for Christmas and have never made Kutia before. I purchased the poppy seeds from a shop that had already ground them. Should I still do the simmering two times (#3 in instructions)?
Thank you for your help!
Hi Ruthie, I haven’t tried purchasing them pre-ground. I am assuming they are already cooked? It would definitely save time if that works and if they are already ground then you probably don’t need to cook and grind them again. I haven’t tried with a pre-ground but I hope it works great for you!
Hi Natasha! I made your Kutia recipe last year and it was a big hit! This year we have some celiac members joining us. Would buckwheat be a good substitute for wheat berries? Or do you suggest another substitute? I need to get moving on this recipe pronto!
Hi Sue, I haven’t tested that myself to advise, but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I have made my Baba’s traditional kutia recipe for many years with white quinoa (cookieandkate.com has great instructions for cooking – be sure to rinse with cold water before cooking so it’s not bitter).
Just cook the quinoa and let it cool, then add to the rest of the ingredients. It doesn’t get mushy, and tastes wonderful. It’s easy, gluten-free, and super-duper nutritious!
This year I will make Natasha’s recipe as well, since I’ll have some newcomers from Ukraine with me to celebrate on January 6th!
Какой European Christmas? Almost all Europeans,
Catholic, Protestant and orthodox, celebrate 25th!!
Found your recipe for kutya and I’m very excited to try it. Where can I find the wheat berries and poppy seeds?
Hi Irene! I am not sure where you live, we find these in our local grocery stores and markets but they can be ordered on Amazon. I hope you love this recipe!
It was very easy to make using pre-steamed quick cooking wheat. It only takes about twenty minutes to get a nice texture. I found Earthly Choice brand red winter wheat berries and used those. Not sure if the poppy seeds really need to be ground. We left them and It was fine. This will make nice breakfasts this week!
Sounds great, Jill. Thanks a lot for your good comments and feedback!
Hi Natasha! Thanks for the detailed instructions for Kutia. I tasted a chocolate Kutia and I have been trying to find a recipe for it. My guess would be using coco powder in the recipe. Can you add any comments how to make it? Thank you!
Hi Joanne, while I haven’t tried it with chocolate/ cocoa, one of my readers mentioned the following: “My aunt even adds tiny pieces of dark chocolate”, I hope that gives you a few ideas on what to try 🙂
Despite making it in stages, and messing up a few steps, my kutia turned out great! I let the milk boil dry, leaving me with milk solids on the wheat. I rinsed it off, then added fresh cream to the honey, which solved the problem. A Vitamix made quick work of the poppy seed paste (I accidentally let them boil for a second: still ok.)
Currants, apricots, and walnuts were very good. I will make again!
I’m so glad it all worked out for you, Jen! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
My recollection is that it was very sweet and laced with a lot of brandy and my Polish grandparents served it up to us lucky kids at the end of the Christmas Eve meal . We were told only once that if it was flicked with a spoon to the ceiling and stuck there we would have good luck all year, Grandfather regretted this and never mentioned that idea again !
I love hearing all these traditions about Kutia! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Any tips how this recipe can be made in a crockpot?
Many thanks!
Hi Natalka, I haven’t tried this in a crockpot but I imagine that would work. I just would not be able to advise of the cooking time etc, since I have not experimented on it yet.
Our traditional kurtis growing up was a simple wheat, poppy seed and honey. The wheat was cooked for hours until it popped open, the poppy seed was cooked and then mashed with a wooden mallet in the cooking pot (I use a blender). Then when cold you mixed those 2 together with creamed honey and just enough hot water to dissolve the honey. I made some (1 lb of wheat and about 2oz off poppy seed). Then I mix a little each day for our meals around Chtistmas. I wanted to send you a picture but I don’t see a way. This was always the first thing we ate at Chritmas eve dinner when I was growing up.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. We loved tradition and traditional Christmas recipes!
This is the way my late mother-in-law made kutia, just the three ingredients and we eat it before everything else, too.
Maybe milk tastes better however it doesn’t belong in Kutia since it is a Lenten dish….
Didn’t work. Wheat berry was hard even after 4 hours on low with milk, too watery at end, and total throw away after 2 days of making abs $30 spent. Really disappointed, ruined my Christmas meal since I really wanted to have kutya just like grandma made before
Hi Mark, I’m sorry to hear that. I haven’t had that experience, but I wonder if maybe the heat was too low or maybe a different variety of wheat berries?
I had the same experience. Used hard white berries, cooked with milk for 4 hours. The berries were still too firm at the end of the cook. I’m wondering if it has to do with cooking in whole milk. I just started another batch of soaked wheat berries, cooking only in water this time. I want to see if the results are any different after 4 hours.
you must use shelled wheat grains,
if you have shells, it’s hard to get rid of them, cook them,
it’s a waste of effort and your work,
look for grains without hulls in stores,
worth it
greetings
I know this a long time ago but this recipe should specify hard red wheat which is most commonly grown in the Ukraine. The white wheat berries don’t break down the same way.
Greetings from Australia. Hope all is well with you and your family. My wife is just going out shopping and I’ve shown her all the ingrediants for Kutia. Will let you know how it turns out. Wally.
Hi Wally! I hope you enjoyed this recipe! We look forward to your feedback!
First time on your site. Like that your recipe is on one page. Goin’ try your Kutia recipe.
I’m so happy you discovered our blog. Welcome! 🙂 I hope you love this recipe!
Can I use Solo canned poppy seed filling in this recipe?
Hi Nancy, I never tried canned poppy seeds in this recipe, but I would add them to taste, maybe 1/2 cup. I hope this helps, and let me know how it will work out.
My husband is ukraninan and I want to make Kutia for him this year. Do you know if I can make it in a slow cooker or instant pot?
Hi Karishma, I haven’t tried this in an Instant Pot but here is what one of our readers wrote: “I made kutia yesterday following your recipe, and it turned out really nice. Just want to let you know – instead of cooking wheat berries on the stove, I cooked them in my Instant Pot for about 60 minutes (without prior overnight soaking). You need a little less liquid (about 3 cup, I’d say) in this case. Baking kutia in the oven after that added a nice touch. Thank you for the recipe!
Overall, love love love your website! So many great Russian/Ukrainian dishes that you adapt for cooking here in America! Thank you for all your hard work!” I hope this is helpful!
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to surprise my father-in-law with Kutia this Christmas. 🙂
Hello Karishma, I haven’t tried that yet to advise but I saw others shared that they used an instant pot and they loved the result!
I made the wheat berries in my Instant Pot this year, no soaking needed, 1.5 cups of wheat berries to 3 cups of water, cooked for 60 minutes, natural release vent. It absorbed most of the water so I didn’t need to drain. I scalded 1/2 cup of milk to proceed with the poppy seeds, then followed the recipe as written as I do like mine baked.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Michele!
This is exactly how my Ukrainian family makes Kutia! The only difference is we will make it days in advance and let it sit in the fridge. The slight fermentation that happens enhances the flavour. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review, Daniella!
I love this recipe, it is my third time making it! Unfortunately, I messed up this year’s batch. I did it completely with milk, but I think the two previous batches I made last year, I did half milk half water. This time the recipe turned out puddingish! I couldn’t “pour the milk off” as it was so thick! It’s still very delicious, but the texture is a bit too moist. Although my husband ate two bowls full and said it’s perfect! lol I still gave the recipe 5 stars, because even though it isn’t as pretty as your pictures show, it is outstanding in flavor and you give such easy to follow instructions. Thanks!
I’m so glad your family has enjoyed this recipe, Beth! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Hi Natasha
Can you use Millet instead of Wheat as I am gluten intolerant. I guess one would omit the soaking and the length of time to cook but would you bake it in the Oven?
Thank you I enjoy your recipes!
Hi Helen, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
This was exactly how my grandmother made her kutia which I did not have a recipe for, everyone loved it, my sons ate the leftovers for breakfast, thanks for a great recipe!
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
Hi Natasha
I was exploring recipes for Kutia and came across your site. I don’t know if you are aware that your recipe is almost word for word the same as in one of my favorite Russian cookbooks, Please to the Table. Perhaps you came across it on another site and it was not given appropriate attribution. I am sure you would want to give credit where credit is due.
Hi Anna, Yes that is exactly right. I always make it a point to give credit when it’s due because I would want others to do the same for me. You probably missed the credit in the post. I linked to the book as well.
Anna: This recipe may have been printed in a Russian cookbook but hundreds of thousands of Slavic (Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Slovenians etc…) families have in fact concocted this and other versions of Kutya for centuries. So let’s not make this about Russian cookbook authors being slighted.
Hi Natasha,
I made kutia yesterday following your recipe, and it turned out really nice. Just want to let you know – instead of cooking wheat berries on the stove, I cooked them in my Instant Pot for about 60 minutes (without prior overnight soaking). You need a little less liquid (about 3 cup, I’d say) in this case. Baking kutia in the oven after that added a nice touch. Thank you for the recipe!
Overall, love love love your website! So many great Russian/Ukrainian dishes that you adapt for cooking here in America! Thank you for all your hard work!
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing that with us! Cooking that in an Instant Pot is genius! I’m so happy you are enjoying our blog, thank you for that feedback
Hi Natasha, thank you for the instant pot tip. Is that 3 cups of milk or 3 cups of water?
Thank you so much for the tip with InstaPot. I did soak my winter berries but I do not have 3 hours for additional cooking 🙂 so InstaPot it is with 40 min vs 60. We will see how it turns out. Last year, it was good but I did not soak berries overnight and Kutia was slightly hard, but my family are it all up.
My goodness – the result is 9″ x 9″ of pure deliciousness! The Kutya I grew up with was more like a wheat and poppy seed cold “soup”. We are having a Ukrainian Christmas dinner tomorrow and I am certain my mom will love this as well. Thanks for the recipe.
GK
You’re so welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed that, Gary!
Natasha, something to consider is that since kutya is for Christmas Eve, traditionally all the food is free of animal products, so making it with milk breaks that tradition. The wheat berries can instead be cooked with water. For Christmas day, totally OK!
Thank you for sharing that with us!
I could only find soft white wheat berries. I have soaked them overnight. What would you suggest for the cooking time?
Hi Gretta, I honestly haven’t tried with soft white wheat berries – you might google the cooking time for those to see if you need to modify the recipe at all.
I’m in the middle of making this dish for tonight and heating the poppy seed they started to boil 🙁 What will happen to them if they are boiled? Can I still use them? Ugh….
Hi Anke, It’s ok if they accidentally boil, you just don’t want them boiling for a long time, just proceed with the recipe 🙂
This recipe took a healthy portion of my day and, through most of it, I wondered if this was going to be anything. But when it was done–wow. The flavors are really complex and worth the long, slow cook of the (cashew) milk. I switched out Lyle’s syrup for honey to keep vegan. I also halved since this was just for me and my wife. All-in-all, this is a special holiday treat that I think we’ll look forward to each season.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me :). I’m all smiles!
You seem to be a Martha Stewart know-it-all. My mother and now my sister makes kutia , but totally different way.
Hi George. I don’t know about that, but thank you! There are several different versions out there I’m sure.
Natasha-
Hosting traditional Ukrainian Svyat Vechir this year for the first time and have been using your recipes slowly throughout the year to practice. Thanks for the great varenyky and borscht recipes, followed them step by step and they both turned out very well and my family loved it!
I am attempting to cook this kutia recipe for the first time and have two questions:
1. what is the purpose of baking the kutia at the end (do I have to do this step?)
2. If I bake it, what sized baking dish would you recommend (should I use a larger dish to spread it out and bake more of it?)
Thanks!
-Lesia
Hi Lesia, I’m so glad you are enjoying our recipes. The baking at the end helps the flavors meld and the kutia absorbs some of the milk mixture making it really flavorful. I used a deep 9″ pie pan. I wouldn’t use a large pan since it will dry out faster in the oven if it is spread too thin. You still want it to be moist when it is finished. I hope you love it!
Thank you very much! Can’t wait to try the recipe!
Hi Natasha:) I know this is a meant to be a Christmas dish, but I’m too impatient to wait until December! Can I cook and grind the poppy seeds a day ahead of time?
Hi Emily, yes pre-cooking the poppy seeds would work fine 🙂
I’m currently baking your Kutia recipe. I only found the darker wheat berries so I hope everyone still enjoys. What are your thoughts on using barley instead of wheat berries?
Also, I’m not sure if I cooked the wheat long enough. It was about 3 hrs 45 min and I could chew them pretty easily. Can I bake longer?
I did try a taste before baking and wow! Tastes like the traditional for sure!
I used golden raisins and chopped walnuts.
Hi Christine! The wheat berries should still have a little texture/bite to them so you’re probably ok 🙂 I wouldn’t bake too much longer than recommended so you don’t risk drying it out.
omg ! this is funny, we were just talking about kutia with my husband, and he said look up the recipe at Natasha’s , and I told him you probably didn’t have the kutia recipe . I was wrong ! I opened facebook today and sure it is – kutia recipe !!!
That’s awesome! Glad you found it!! Let me know how you two liked the recipe!
I’m making this tonight but only found “hard red springs” wheat berries. Our daughter, adopted and home a year, loved your Paska bread and has asked for this. Hoping the different berries don’t make too much of a taste difference. Thank you for sharing your heritage, culture and love for food!
I love hearing reviews like this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Natasha, I’m in the process of making this right now and didn’t know I need a coffee grinder Or a food grinder for the poppy seeds. I don’t have either… is this step really necessary ? What should I do?
Anna, those are the only two tools I’ve found to work great for grinding poppy seeds. The consistency won’t be the same without grinding them. I wish I knew any other way.
My friend said in the old days, her mother used to roll the poppy seeds with a rolling pin. Tedious but thought I’d share that idea. Do you have a food processor?
I’ve also heard of it being done with a mortar and pestle but wow that does sound time consuming! 🙂
Hi Natasha, when I didn’t have a food processor, I used a blender in small batches.
Thank you for sharing!
I look forward to trying your recipie ,
I was wondering if you could substitute other kinds of fruit like blueberries, etc or would that make it to sweet .
Hi Debra, I do think other dried fruits like blueberries would work fine 🙂
Since I live in Ukraine and there are so many “kashas” to choose from, I’m not sure what “Wheat Berries” are in Ukrainian language. Could you write it out here, so I can buy the right ones! 🙂 Thanks!
pshenichnoe zerno (пшеничное зерно) is my best guess at the translation.
Hi Natasha! I was just looking at this recipe and scanned the reviews and saw that I wrote you a year ago asking what to look for here in Ukraine! Ukraine has really learned to sell their products for the Christmas market and I found a box of wheat berries called, “Kutia Ingredients for Christmas” It has everything I need except honey to make the recipe you listed above! They call the wheat berry “пшениця oзима”. Your recipe is the best! Thanks!
That is awesome and so convenient!! Thank you for sharing this Beth and I’m so glad you love our recipe 🙂
Dear Natasha and family, smachnoyi kuti! Greetings from a fellow Ukrainian, far away from home, who loves kutya and all Ukrainian Christmas foods. Your recipe turned out great, I just made it, and am waiting for the first star today to serve it to my family – we celebrate the Orthodox Christmas Eve tonight.
by any chance, do you have a separate tag for christmas dishes? That would come handy to cooks like me! Loved your syrnyky and sauercraut recipes. Previously, also made solodka kovbaska I yizhachky -hedgehog cookies. fantastic, like my favourite aunt Natasha’s from far childhood.
Love your recipes!! happy new year to you and smachnoyi kuti,
Iryna
I want to know more about your hedgehog cookies! Do you have a picture of them posted somewhere? I’m so happy you’re enjoying the recipe and have a merry Christmas! 🙂 If you go to recipes at the top and click “Holiday” then Christmas, you will get to this page: https://natashaskitchen.com/category/holiday/
Thank you very much for this recipe. I had Kutia abt 2 years ago for the first time as my Baba never made it. That one was very bland and not that tasty. Your recipe however is absolutely delicious and even though it took most of the day to cook those darn wheatberries it was definitely worth it. If anybody else is looking for a Kutia recipe I highly recommend this one, I followed your instructions exactly and it turned out exactly like your picture. Thank you again
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! I agree; I wish those wheat berries cooked faster. Maybe that’s why this was deemed a Christmas recipe; it takes too long for every day! 😉
Natasha,
Thank you for providing a wonderful recipe for kutia. It tastes wonderful and is very good! It’s like a good and healthy kasha! 🙂 My Polish neighbor, who is 76, tried and asked me for a recipe because she does hers differently and liked mine better! From now on, this will be a regular routine in my family. I cooked mine in milk and omitted poppy seeds.
Thank you to you and your husband for all of your hard work!
Thank you so much for such a wonderful review! 🙂
I’ve never heard of this recipe being used that way but I guess different places might have different traditions for it? The only way we serve it is at Christmas time. That’s so interesting! I pulled out Russia from my description just in case someone gets confused. 😉
So I will attempt this recipe for Christmas Eve this year. Probably will make it Sunday so it has time to sit. Would I also add the condensed milk to this like in your poppy seed recipe or just the milk and honey here and the sweet milk for the pastry feeling?
Joanna,adding condensed milk to this will make kutya too sweet, it has enough sweetness already.
Have you ever tried Bob’s Red Mill brand poppy seeds? I’m trying to decide if these are good quality or if I should make a trip to a whole foods store. I am very excited to try this recipe.
We have and they were good. Not quite as good as the ones at whole foods but Bob’s Mill would work well for this recipe.
This looks delicious! Looks really healthy too! I bet it’ll be good as breakfast on any day! I may have to try it. Thanks!
I agree I loved having it for breakfast every time my husband made it. It’s such a treat and it sure is healthy.
as a little girl kutia for me was like a punish,,but now i really love it 😀
There are quite a few foods that were that way for me too and now I just absolutely love them! 🙂
I have canned poppy seeds, can I use it instead? How much should I use?
I never tried canned poppy seeds in this recipe, but I would add them to taste, maybe 1/2 cup. Hope this helps and let me know how it will work out :).
Instead of cooking for Jan. 6th, our church was having a dinner. The Deacon in charge made the Kutia, his wheat was cracked, as if you put the whole wheat into a food processor for a couple of spins…really looked like quinoa at first…he puts honey, poppyseed, orange juice and orange zest, it was good, never had it that way.
That sounds like an intetesting and tasy combination! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Have you tried substituting groats for the wheat berries. Need to look for the wheat berries. Gave it a 5 looks goodwill have to try it.
I havent teied that and havent seen it used in kutia before.
We too make kutia for Christmas Eve, as it is one of the 12 traditional dishes served by Ukrainians. I like your addition of dried apricots, something I will try. We generally add golden raisins and nuts. Merry Christmas!
Golden raisins would be perfect also! What other traditional meals do you make for the holidays?
Golden raisins would be perfect also! What other traditional meals do you make for the holidays?
I’ve been wanting to make Kutia for a while now! Every time Christmas time comes around but then I never get to making it. I don’t remember eating this with apricots or any kind of fruit. Would it still be the same sweetness if I don’t include the apricots? Or is there any other dry fruit that would be a good substitute? Thank you for posting this recipe I will definitely have to make it now!
The apricots don’t really sweeten this much at all. I like them in there for the slightly sweet tart contrast and the pop of color. You could just use raisins and omit the apricots if you don’t want them. I hope you love this kutia! 🙂
That’s interesting, I had tried making “kutia,” but with cracked wheat, just like a regular hot porridge. I tried making in the multi-cooker though and had a hard time getting the right consistency.
I haven’t tried using a multi-cooker before so I really can’t offer any cooking time advice. It takes quite a while on the stove.
I’ve tried several versions of the kutya. We grew up in Ukraine and my mom makes it every year. I love her version, and yours comes close (except she uses walnuts, broken in about pea sized pieces. My aunt even adds tiny pieces of dark chocolate). She doesn’t bake it in the end though, does that bring the flavors better together in your version? Someone commented on the soupier version. It can be eaten like that but when I tried it, it wasn’t the same. I’ll have to try and make it myself next year and impress my mom. Thanks to your husband for recreating this recipe.
The dark chocolate has my name written all over it! 😉 I hope you love this recipe and that you totally impress your mom 🙂 Thanks Oksana 🙂
Eastern European Christmas is on December 25. Old Rite Christmas is on January 7.
Do the poppyseed have to be made as the mixture, that you have separate recipe for it, or they just have to be just grinded, without the condensed milk?..
I double cooked the poppyseed mixture as detailed in the instructions above, but if you want to see the photos for the process, you can click on the link above. The only thing I didn’t do with the poppyseed filling was add condensed milk. The honey sweetens the dish enough and it doesn’t need the condensed milk. I hope that makes sense. Everything is detailed in the recipe. You won’t be able to grind the poppy seeds if you just add them raw. One of the recipes we tested had raw poppy seeds and they tasted bitter, so I’d definitely recommend the cooking method I talk about above.
Alright 🙂 gotcha!:) thank you , so much Natasha!:)
Ahh, yumminess!! For me the combination of honey/milk/poppyseeds cannot be any better! I’ve tried it just once in my childhood, at my friend’s house. He mom made perfect one! Looking at your kutya reminds me so much of hers! I’d love to give it a try of making it myself asap:))) thank you for the recipe , Natasha!:)
I hope you love it just as much as you remember :). I love how food can bring back sweet memories 🙂
You got me intrigued with this dish! Never heard of it nor had it….I don’t think 🙂 But like Marina said it sounds like kasha, which I pretty much grew up on .
It must be fairly regional. My husband grew up with this but he introduced me to it just in the past few years. 🙂
Kasha is the name for the wheat berries. Kutia is the sweet traditional dish that contains kasha
I sometimes cook Kasha as a side dish, cooked in beef broth and add wild mushrooms and onions…
These sound and look healthy and delicious! I wonder how I’ve never heard of these, since I have quite a few Russian / Ukranian friends 🙂 Pinned!
It really is a healthy dish! I can’t think of a more well-rounded breakfast. I mean, it’s definitely more complicated than my usual breakfasts, but then of course it is a special occasion breakfast 🙂 Thanks so much for pinning!
Is there a certain quantity of water that the wheat berries have to be soaked in overnight?
Katerina, cover with at least two inches of water above the wheat berries.
Hi Natasha, i’m from Moldova and my grandma made a version of Kutya a couple of times and i loved it. i want to make it again but where do they sell the wheat berries. i don’t remember ever seeing it at safeway or any other grocery store…
We’ve purchased the wheat berries in Rosauers and Whole Foods both in the bin sections. You might call around to your local grocery stores to see if they carry it before going all over town.
i will do that. thank you
I am from Russia, but never heard or ate this before. Interesting…..
I think it’s very regional. My husband grew up enjoying this during the holidays but I hadn’t tried it until he made it for me 🙂
I’ve only ever eaten this in church (in the Russian Orthodox Christian church) and it has each time been on the occasion specifically to commemorate someone who had died. So maybe that is how it is eaten in Russia mainly? Can’t wait to try to make it (we are Ukrainian on my dad’s side, so maybe on that side of the family, at least per these other posts, there are completely different associations with this dish).
This is traditionally eaten on Christmas eve, but it is a very special dish so I can see how it could be used that way.
You should do a French macaron recipe, that would be a hit.
I’ve tried French macarons from some of the best bakeries but just wasn’t taken by them enough to really want to recreate them. Also, I have tried, and failed :-O and wasn’t determined enough to keep trying. It might happen eventually :). Thanks for the encouragement! 😉
This looks great! This is one of my Husband’s favorite Ukrainian dishes, but my attempt to make it on Christmas eve was a bit of a fail. I will definitely have to give this one a try. Pinned!
It was a fail first time for my husband as well. But the recipe worked out great this time and brought some sweet memories from his childhood :).
Mmm… I love kutya! Do you guys usually eat it like this or do you add enough milk to make it soupy?
Marina, we just eat it like this, without adding any milk :). How do you eat your kutia?