Eastern Europe & Caucasus

Kutia (кутя): Ukraine's Christmas Eve Wheat Berry and Poppy Seed Porridge

Name: Kutia (кутя): Ukraine's Christmas Eve Wheat Berry and Poppy Seed Porridge
Prep time: 12 h
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 13 h 30 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients: 250 ml (about 200 g) Wheat berries (whole grain); 1 L Water for soaking; 1 L Water for boiling; a pinch Salt; 50 g Butter; 100 g Poppy seeds (blue poppy seeds); 200 ml Boiling water; 100 g Honey; 100 g Sugar; 100 g Walnuts (shelled); 1.5 L Water; 250 g combined Dried apple and pear; 50 g Raisins; 2 tbsp Honey

A recipe for kutia, the first dish eaten at Ukraine's Christmas Eve supper, made with wheat berries, poppy seeds, honey, and walnuts. Its role in the meatless twelve-dish supper, the custom of bringing it to godparents, how to grind poppy seeds until they release their "milk," and the dried-fruit drink uzvar.

Published: October 25, 2026Total: 13 hr 30 minLevel: Beginner

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 7

Soak the wheat overnight

10 to 12 hours

Plump wheat berries swollen in a bowl of water — After soaking overnight, the grains swell one size larger

Put the wheat berries in a bowl and rinse 3 to 4 times, changing the water. Remove any husks or debris that float up. Pour in 1 L of water, 4 times the volume of the wheat, cover, and leave for 10 to 12 hours. It is enough when the grains are plump and one size larger and you feel faint springiness when you pinch one. In summer, soak them in the refrigerator.

STEP 22 / 7

Boil the wheat over medium heat for about 1 hour

Boiled wheat berries splitting open to show the white inside — Done when the grains split lengthwise and burst tender when bitten

Drain the soaked wheat in a colander, put it in a pot, and add 1 L of fresh water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, lower to medium, and boil with the lid slightly ajar for about 1 hour. If the water drops and the wheat shows above it, add hot water. It is done when some of the grains have split lengthwise showing the white inside and they are tender, bursting when you bite them. If still hard, extend 15 minutes at a time.

STEP 33 / 7

Drain the wheat and coat it with butter

about 5 minutes

Coating the boiled wheat with melted butter in a bowl and cooling it — Coat with melted butter and cool with the grains loose and glossy

Drain the boiled wheat in a colander and shake it well to remove the water. Transfer to a bowl, pour over 50 g of melted butter, and coat evenly all over with a wooden spoon. It is enough when the grains do not stick together and have a sheen. Leave it at room temperature to cool. Honey is not mixed in while hot, so let the wheat cool thoroughly.

STEP 44 / 7

Soak the poppy seeds in boiling water

about 20 minutes

Pouring boiling water over poppy seeds in a heatproof bowl to soften them — Soak in boiling water to soften, then drain through a fine-mesh strainer

While the wheat boils, lightly rinse the poppy seeds in a fine-mesh tea strainer, put them in a heatproof bowl, and pour over 200 ml of freshly boiled water. Cover and leave about 20 minutes to soften the poppy seeds. When the seeds are swollen enough to crush between your fingers, drain through a fine-mesh tea strainer or cheesecloth. The seeds are tiny and would run through a regular colander.

STEP 55 / 7

Grind the poppy seeds until they release their "milk"

about 10 minutes

Poppy seeds ground in a mortar until whitish milk seeps out — Grind until the whitish liquid seeps out and it becomes a paste

Put the drained poppy seeds in a mortar and grind with the pestle in circles for about 10 minutes. As the seeds crush, a whitish liquid seeps out. In Ukraine this is called the "milk" of the poppy seeds, and grinding this far greatly deepens the flavor. When the milk has come out and the whole thing is a moist paste, add 100 g honey and 100 g sugar and mix until blended.

STEP 66 / 7

Simmer the uzvar

about 30 minutes

Uzvar simmered from dried apple, dried pear, and raisins in a pot — Simmer until the liquid is pale amber, then dissolve the honey once cool

Quickly rinse the dried apple, dried pear, and raisins, put them in a pot with 1.5 L of water, and set over high heat. When it boils, lower to low heat and simmer about 30 minutes, until the fruit is plump and tender and the liquid is a pale amber. Turn off the heat and let it cool, and once it has cooled to body temperature dissolve in 2 tablespoons of honey.

STEP 77 / 7

Combine the wheat and poppy seeds

about 5 minutes

Kutia with cooled wheat mixed into the poppy seed sauce and scattered with walnuts — When the poppy seeds have spread through, serve in a bowl and scatter with walnuts

Add the poppy seed sauce to the cooled wheat and mix with a wooden spoon until the color has spread evenly through. When the wheat grains are tinted grayish by the poppy seeds and have the sheen of honey, it is done. Serve in a bowl and scatter with coarsely chopped walnuts. When eating, spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of uzvar over it, and it turns moist, with a sweet aroma.

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Ingredients

1 / 3

Wheat

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Wheat berries (whole grain)	250 ml (about 200 g)	Whole-grain wheat. Soak overnight in water
Water for soaking	1 L	4 times the volume of wheat
Water for boiling	1 L	Boil the soaked wheat in fresh water
Salt	a pinch
Butter	50 g	To avoid meat and dairy, use 2 tbsp of odorless vegetable oil

2 / 3

Poppy seed sauce

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Poppy seeds (blue poppy seeds)	100 g	The dark blue-black kind. White poppy seeds also work
Boiling water	200 ml	To soak the poppy seeds
Honey	100 g
Sugar	100 g	Reduce by up to half if you want it less sweet
Walnuts (shelled)	100 g	Chopped coarsely. Lightly toast if you like

3 / 3

Uzvar (dried-fruit drink)

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Water	1.5 L
Dried apple and pear	250 g combined	Dried apple alone is fine. Dried apricots or prunes can be mixed in
Raisins	50 g
Honey	2 tbsp	Sugar is fine. Sweeten to taste

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When night falls and it grows dark outside the windows, the Christmas Eve supper, Sviata Vecheria (Свята вечеря), begins in homes across Ukraine. In the middle of the table sits a bowl of boiled wheat berries mixed with dark poppy seeds, honey, and walnuts. This is kutia (кутя). As the most important dish on the Christmas Eve table, it is never missing from a household's table.

The method is simple: soak the wheat overnight and boil it until tender, steep the poppy seeds in boiling water, grind them in a mortar, and mix with honey. You need to source wheat berries and poppy seeds, but the steps themselves are not difficult. The only thing that takes time is soaking the wheat overnight.

Kutia at the center of the twelve dishes of Christmas Eve

A bowl of kutia at the center of a Ukrainian Christmas Eve table lit with candles

The custom is to lay out twelve dishes at the Ukrainian Christmas Eve supper. According to Sova Books, a Ukrainian-Australian bookstore in Australia, these twelve dishes contain no meat or any animal products. Among them, two sweet dishes are essential: kutia, of wheat and poppy seeds, and uzvar (узвар), a drink simmered from dried fruit. Kutia is the lady of the house, and uzvar is the master. That is how the relationship between the two dishes is put in an article from the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.

On Christmas Eve there is also a custom of bringing kutia to the homes of loved ones. Families carry kutia and bread to the houses of godparents, grandparents, and relatives, greeting them with "Good evening, it is the Holy Night. Father and Mother have come to bring you supper." The household that receives them thanks the visitors with sweets, fruit, or money and prepares a gift for the godchild. Kutia is not only eaten but also delivered.

Did you know

For a long time Christmas in Ukraine was celebrated on January 7 of the old (Julian) calendar, and the Christmas Eve supper was on the evening of January 6. In July 2023, a law signed by President Zelensky moved Christmas as a national holiday to December 25. The Orthodox Church of Ukraine also announced a switch to the new calendar. Today some families gather for this supper on the night of December 24, while others still celebrate on January 6 as before.

The ingredients are wheat, poppy seeds, honey, and walnuts. All come from fields and forest, and they suit a Christmas Eve table that uses no meat or dairy. Some households add raisins or other dried fruit, and the fine details of preparation vary by region and family, but the combination of wheat, poppy seeds, and honey never changes anywhere. Leftover kutia is sometimes warmed the next morning and eaten for breakfast.

Ingredients (serves 6)

Ingredients laid out: wheat berries, poppy seeds, honey, walnuts, dried apple and pear, and raisins

The wheat for kutia is wheat in the whole-grain berry form, before it is milled into flour. It is not often sold in supermarkets, but it can be found at natural-food stores, Eastern European grocery stores, or online as "wheat berries." For poppy seeds, the dark blue-black blue poppy seeds used in European baking give kutia its characteristic color, more than the white seeds. They are sold at baking supply stores or online.

Tip

If you cannot get wheat berries, pearl barley or hulled barley can approximate the texture. The soaking time is shorter, but it will not have the same springy bite as wheat. Treat it as a home-kitchen substitute.

Allergy and food-safety notes

Walnuts can cause allergies. If you avoid walnuts, you can make it without them. Do not give honey to infants under 1 year old.

How to make kutia

Soak the wheat overnight (10 to 12 hours) in water. The cooking on the day takes about an hour and a half. While the wheat boils, prepare the poppy seeds and uzvar at the same time, and nothing is wasted.

Tip

Do not add honey to hot wheat or boiling uzvar. Adding honey after it has cooled a little keeps the honey's fragrance from escaping.

Tip

If grinding in a mortar for 10 minutes is too much, you can also run the seeds in a food processor in several batches. The mortar, however, brings out more of the oils and the "milk" and gives a smoother mouthfeel.

To the Christmas Eve table with uzvar

A bowl of kutia and glasses of uzvar on a candlelit table — Spoon a little uzvar over the kutia and serve the rest as a drink alongside

Serve the kutia in a large bowl at the center of the table and the mood of Christmas Eve comes with it. To eat, divide into small dishes and spoon a little uzvar over. Pour the remaining uzvar into glasses and serve it as a drink alongside. The gentle sweetness of dried apple and pear goes well with the toasty character of the poppy seeds.

Kutia is like a porridge and also like a sweet dessert. The sweetness of plain grain is what it feels like, rustic and simple, something like a sweet grain pudding. It can be eaten cold or at room temperature. If you want to know more Ukrainian home cooking, knowing the red beet soup borscht (in Japanese) as well will show you how the table broadens.

Picturing a Christmas Eve table of meatless dishes, eating it side by side with Poland's mushroom- or potato-filled dumplings, pierogi (in Japanese), is another clue to the winter kitchens of Eastern Europe.

Frequently asked questions

A mortar and pestle with poppy seeds and wheat berries

Can I boil the wheat without soaking?

With a soft variety or polished wheat, you can boil it as is without soaking. Hard varieties take much longer to boil if not soaked, so soaking overnight is more reliable.

Can I make it with white poppy seeds?

Yes. The color will not turn gray and the finish will be pale, but the toasty flavor and the sweetness of the honey come through fully.

Can I make it ahead?

Refrigerate in a lidded container and finish it soon. The wheat firms up when cold, so bring it to room temperature before eating or spoon on a little more uzvar to moisten it.

What if I want it less sweet?

Cut the sugar by half and sweeten with the honey alone. Adding raisins makes up for sweetness and acidity even with less sugar.

Sources

UNIAN, Ольга Зайцева, "Як варити кутю і коли її носять: традиції та старовинний український рецепт," December 16, 2024. Accessed and checked: October 22, 2026. https://www.unian.ua/lite/advice/yak-variti-kutyu-pravilno-golovni-sekreti-stravi-amp-12853776.html
Sova Books, "Kutia – Star of the Ukrainian Christmas Eve Supper," December 14, 2020. Accessed and checked: October 22, 2026. https://sovabooks.com.au/2020/12/14/kutia-star-of-the-ukrainian-christmas-eve-supper/
Associated Press (published by Word&Way), Felipe Dana and Dasha Litvinova, "Ukraine moves official Christmas Day holiday to Dec. 25, denouncing Russian-imposed traditions," July 31, 2023. Accessed and checked: October 22, 2026. https://wordandway.org/2023/07/31/ukraine-moves-official-christmas-day-holiday-to-dec-25-denouncing-russian-imposed-traditions/