Bowl wih kutia - Christmas cake in Ukraine, Belarus and Poland
Shchi and porridge - our food. And not only on weekdays. Porridge can be put on the festive table, it really happens. This option is particularly relevant in the run-up to the year of the yellow pig. She will be delighted with this treat, but she will have to prepare the dish in an unusual way.
What kind of porridge to cook for the holiday
Not every porridge can be put on the table. An everyday semolina or oatmeal is unlikely to be surprised; no one touches them. When choosing is to give preference to other cereals. Perfect rice, pearl barley, bulgur, use buckwheat. In any case, select the choice of high quality cereals and cook in an unusual way. Water and salt for the festive dish will be small, you have to add something else to it.
How cereals can be used on the holiday table:
- In the form of an independent dish. A vivid example of this is Christmas kutya. Also below you can find a variant of delicious bulgur porridge with shrimps or rice with pineapple and chicken.
- As a side dish. Why not use healthy porridge to replace pasta or potatoes? Below is a variant of rice porridge with spinach, which is great for this purpose.
- As a filling. Kashami often stuffed poultry. Goose, turkey, chicken with cereals are much more satisfying, more interesting, besides it solves the issue with a side dish.
Sweet cereals can be used in festive desserts. On the basis of semolina prepare a terrific souffle, creams. There are pastries made from ready-made cereals, but in their pure form they are rarely put on the table, kutya is an exception.
Christmas kutya
On the eve of Christmas and Epiphany, it is customary for some nations to cook kutya. This porridge is sweet, with dried fruits, honey, nuts. A wonderful treat that is not a dessert. Often it is served on the table first, carried home. In each house, kutyu is cooked differently, here is just one of the recipes. The main ingredient is wheat.
Ingredients
- 200 g of wheat;
- 50 g of nuts;
- 100 g of honey;
- 70 g raisins or other dried fruits;
- 50 g poppy.
Method of preparation
- Go through the wheat, add water for two hours. Then rinse, change the liquid and boil until tender. We do not give actively boil, so that the kernels retain their shape. Drain into a colander, let excess water drain. If suddenly the wheat is sticky, you can rinse.
- Stew poppy seeds with hot water, leave for five minutes, then strain it through a sieve. Sometimes it is frayed or milled, we do it at will.
- Separately soak the raisins. Fry nuts in a dry frying pan, chop into pieces of the desired size.
- Fill the finished wheat with poppy seed, pressed raisins, pour over honey, pour out the nuts. Stir kutya, let it brew. Then we put in small bowls, we put on the festive table.
Often kutyu is cooked with rice, the cereal can be simply replaced, leaving the same dressing for the porridge.
Rice porridge with spinach
An extraordinarily delicate version of the side dish, which can be served on a children's or adult holiday table. To do this, only adjust the amount of spices. Rice choose a long and large, to get a beautiful and crumbly porridge.
Ingredients
- 100 g of spinach;
- 1.5 tbsp. rice;
- 60 g butter;
- 1 onion;
- Salt, pepper and other spices.
Method of preparation
- Wash the rice several times, pour it into a saucepan with a thick bottom. Add three glasses of water. Pour half a teaspoon of salt. Boil after boiling for a quarter of an hour. Then remove from heat, leave for ten minutes, do not lift the lid. Glasses for rice and water take the same volume, so as not to disturb the proportions.
- Grind onion with blender. Heat the butter, put the vegetable and boil for about ten minutes. All moisture should leave the onion, but it should not be fried.
- Rinse and cut the spinach to the onion, cook for another two minutes. Good salt. The mixture should be slightly salted, pepper to taste, you can enter any seasoning.
- Put the spinach in a pan with rice. Cover, leave for ten minutes. Then stir, serve.
Beautifully such side dishes look if you use cooking rings, molds, or just small bowls for layouts on plates. We stuff them with porridge, then turn them over.
Bulgur porridge with shrimps
This porridge can be used as an independent dish. It turns out very satisfying, but not difficult option for the holiday table.
Ingredients
- 300 g of bulgur;
- 400 g frozen vegetable mix;
- 250 g shrimp;
- 2 cloves of garlic;
- cooking oil;
- parsley for decoration.
Method of preparation
- Boil bulgur for about 20 minutes according to the instructions. If water remains in the porridge, then drain. Do not forget to add bulgur.
- Pour the vegetable mixture into the heated oil. Choose according to your taste. Cooking exactly eight minutes. Season with salt.
- In a separate pan, fry the peeled shrimps for about two minutes, send them to the vegetables. Add bulgur, garlic, stir.
- We cover the pan, turn off the stove. Let stand porridge for ten minutes. When serving to the festive table, decorate with greens.
It is possible to cook bulgur not only with shrimps, but also with squids. Such cereal is perfectly combined with a mixture of seafood.
Thai rice porridge with pineapple and chicken
Another interesting cereal recipe for the holiday table. This dish belongs to Thai cuisine. You can use the fillet, as indicated in the recipe, or take the trimmed meat from the chicken thigh.
Ingredients
- 250 g of long rice;
- 200 g canned pineapple;
- 400 g chicken fillet;
- 50 ml of soy sauce;
- 30 ml of oil;
- 1 lime;
- 1 tsp. honey
Method of preparation
- Wash the rice and simply boil it until tender, drain the excess moisture.
- Cut the chicken into small cubes. Pour into the heated oil. Fry over high heat for five minutes. Fillet should be reddened.
- Add pineapples to the chicken, evaporate excess juice. Cook with chicken for another five minutes.
- Add soy sauce, honey, add juice from half lime. Cook for another five minutes without a lid.
- Pour cooked rice to the chicken with pineapples, stir, cover. Leave on low heat for another two minutes. Decorate the porridge with slices of lime.
As you can see, even porridge has a place on the holiday table, you just need to cook it in an unusual way, be sure to add some interesting ingredients.
