What is customary to cook for the commemoration. Dishes on the memorial table

Many people wonder what is 1 year after the loss of a loved one. And here it is important to compose not only a delicious menu - the main thing is that it conforms to church canons. Indeed, in Christianity it is believed that exactly a year after the day of death, the soul unites with the souls of the ancestors. From now on, the three-stage ritual of remembrance is considered complete. Now, in honor of the memory of a loved one, you can gather in a narrow family circle on special memorial days or any important dates associated with someone who no longer exists.

General rules for holding a commemoration

If during his lifetime a person was baptized, then on the eve of the commemoration in the church, a funeral Liturgy must be ordered. It is performed specifically for commemoration, when special prayers are heard for the departed. In addition, you can write the person's name on special notes that are drawn up in the temple. A memorial service is not held for suicides.

If the commemoration falls during Great Lent, then they are postponed to the next weekend.

You need to go to the cemetery. This is important for practical purposes: the grave requires maintenance and improvement, the fence requires painting renewal. It will be symbolic for this very day to replace a temporary monument or cross. From a spiritual point of view, visiting your relative or friend is simply necessary, because on this day it is important to really remember a person, talk about him, pray for his soul, and give alms. It is recommended to treat those who need it - homeless vagabonds or those living in poverty. At the same time, it is not easy to call the name of the person being remembered, but to briefly tell what he was like, remember his good deeds. After that, you can ask to pray for him. It has long been believed that the prayer of those who are deprived of earthly blessings has more weight, because such people are closer to God. They live with hope and faith, which means that their sincere request for the deceased will definitely be heard.

It would be right to bring flowers. At the commemoration they must only be alive.

Several customs are associated with this requirement. The first one stretches back from Ancient Rome, when in the spring they began to decorate the graves with all kinds of flowers, and not on special days, but on ordinary days, in order to make the burial place more beautiful in this way. After a while, the cemeteries turned into blossoming gardens. As a result, the church forbade taking any floral paraphernalia to the funeral, including wreaths, so that relatives could concentrate on prayers.

Christian tradition preaches something else - the immortality of the soul. This is a kind of allegory that a person, like a flower, never dies. He receives resurrection and eternal life in another, better world, and the soul is constantly being reborn. As for the wreath, there must be a cross in it. This embodies the spiritual depth of sorrow, the prayerful desire for the soul to find peace. Thus, natural flowers, unlike artificial ones, symbolize eternal life, eternal love and eternal memory. Therefore, a tradition has developed to use elements of evergreen shrubs and trees in funeral processions.

Premises and appearance

Separately, it is worth talking about the place. This is, of course, an individual question, it depends on the capabilities and wishes of the relatives. You can rent a special room and invite everyone or those who were close to the deceased. Then the need to think over the menu will disappear by itself, because public institutions have standard options for different occasions. You just need to approve the existing menu or add some dishes to it. However, from a spiritual point of view, the place of commemoration of a person must be associated with him, so many families spend memorable evenings at home.

As for the clothes, everything here is not as strict as on the day of the funeral. Formal style is encouraged: suits, blouses, but modest sweaters and jeans are okay. The main thing is that the clothes should be in neutral shades. It doesn't have to be black, but a t-shirt with an eye-catching pattern would be inappropriate. It is important to understand that death is an act of remembrance and respect. This is not an entertaining evening, but you shouldn't turn it into a mournful one either.

According to church canons, one cannot grieve for a long time.

We need to believe and rejoice that our loved one went to a better world. Those who are alien to this position should look at it differently - through the eyes of the one whom you want to remember. Would he like to see his entire family, friends and colleagues burst into tears? Or would he be pleased to hear the stories that bind you all? Would it hurt him that you put on a red dress, or would he note your taste? Would he smile at the fact that his favorite songs are playing, or would he prefer silence? As you can see, there is no universal answer.

Organization of a memorial meal

In memory of the deceased, it is necessary to symbolically allocate a place for him at the table: put a chair, cutlery, pour water into a glass and cover it with a piece of bread. Meals should be simple. This is a special funeral ritual. It does not serve to satiety, but to memory and unite the family. Its purpose is to maintain physical and mental strength. Therefore, the table should not burst with an abundance of dishes, so that the memorial evening does not turn into a noisy feast.

The tradition itself originated in pagan times, when food was eaten at the grave of the deceased. Among the Eastern Slavs, funeral rites were accompanied by songs, dances, and various competitions. It was believed that the louder, brighter and richer they see a person off on their last journey, the easier their new life in another world will be.

According to Christian rules, in a memorial meal, it is not food and surroundings that are important, but modesty, humility and spirituality.

In addition, the church insists on the absence of alcohol, because under its influence the reason for the event is forgotten. And the fact that alcoholic drinks in themselves belong to the amusement ones makes their presence at the commemoration a repetition of pagan traditions. Nevertheless, in our time, a memorial dinner is rarely complete without alcohol, so it is necessary to make the use symbolic. Sparkling and sweet drinks at such events are unacceptable, as is the common mistake to water the grave ground with alcohol. The Church considers this to be an extreme disrespect for the deceased and considers it a sin.

What is obligatory on the memorial table?

No matter how much time has passed since the death of a person - 9 days, 40 or one year - memorial meals in his honor should include dishes and products traditional for such events. These are kutia, pancakes, jelly and honey.

Kutia was used during the rituals of worshiping the dead in ancient Rome. In Greece, boiled wheat with fruits and berries was served at funerals. She got into Christian life from pagan rituals of a similar kind. The symbolism of kutya is that grains represent life, death and rebirth. Once in the ground, they give new breath, blossom, food. This is also associated with the use of raisins, berries, nuts. Honey in porridge symbolizes well-being, a sweet and happy life. And if you remember that religion views death as a journey to a better world, then the appearance of this dish on the memorial table takes on a deeper meaning.

Preparing kutia is simple. This will require 0.5 kg of rice or wheat, dried apricots, honey, raisins and poppy seeds if desired. The grains must be soaked in water for several hours, and then cooked until tender. Sweet additives are added at the end.

The use of jelly today is more a tribute to traditions. With the current variety of soft drinks, jelly can be replaced with juice, lemonade, uzvar or compote. For the latter, both fresh and frozen berries and fruits can be suitable. In a large saucepan, bring the water to a boil, then add the main ingredients and sugar. All this is cooked until a rich color and pronounced aroma appear.

The served compote should be neutral - not sour, but not very sweet either.

Sample menu

First courses are served at memorial meetings. These are light soups, sometimes ukha, but more often homemade borscht. Its preparation begins with a broth of meat on the bone, and after a while potatoes are added to it. In parallel, vegetables are sauteed in a pan, after which they are also sent to the pan along with chopped cabbage and spices. After 15–20 minutes, the borscht can be removed from the stove. Where there is a first course, there must be a second. This can be mashed potatoes, pasta, buckwheat or noodles. It is made from flour and eggs, boiled in chicken broth with spices.

Sandwiches, lavash roll, casserole, cutlets, sausage and cheese slices, jellied meat, fish, fruits are used as snacks. You can also make puff pastries. With a ready-made store dough, it is much easier to make them, you just have to choose the filling and put the dessert in the oven.
Thus, an approximate menu for a memorial meal can be presented as follows:

kutia;
Borsch;
Herring;
mashed potatoes;
cutlets or fried meat;
sandwiches;
fresh fruits and vegetables;
pickles (including mushrooms);
baked goods (rolls, pancakes or pies);
candies;
compote, mineral water.

There is another unofficial tradition - to serve what the deceased liked. His favorite salads, pastries, and snacks can perfectly complement the list of traditional dishes. If the commemoration falls on the time of fasting, the menu should be different. Anything that contains animal products should be excluded. You can serve lean borscht, kutya, potatoes with mushrooms, compote, carrot or cabbage cutlets, salads. This can be cucumber and tomato, or radish and carrot, and vinaigrette. It is prepared from boiled vegetables: carrots, potatoes and beets with the addition of pickled cucumbers, green peas and onions.

Pancakes are ideal for a lean table. They also have a symbolic meaning. We know about him since the Maslenitsa traditions - it is a celebration of the sun, renewal, a new clean life. You will need wheat or buckwheat flour, dry yeast, water and sugar. Everything is mixed, then salt and vegetable oil are added. You need to bake pancakes in a hot frying pan. You can use mushrooms as a filling.

And again about prayer. Before eating food, the oldest member of the family turns to God and speaks kind words about the deceased. The meal begins with kutya - everyone should eat at least a few spoons.

The death of a relative is always trouble and pain. Therefore, relatives, as a rule, think of the rules for holding ceremonies last. There was a custom among the people that is still alive today. When grief happens in a family, neighbors, acquaintances, distant and close relatives come. Some of them take the "reins" into their own hands. Usually, these are older women who are experts in rituals and traditions.

Traditional dishes for the commemoration

Wake is an ancient tradition. It lies in the fact that the people who help with the burial must be fed. That is, the point is not in the feast, but in the food. People who are not familiar with traditions try to arrange a real feast from the commemoration. They cook pickles, strive to make the menu diversified, "expensive". It is not right.

The point is to feed people simply and satisfyingly. Wake is lunch. It should consist of three courses. Something like this:

the first (usually borsch);
second course;
compote with a bun or pie.

You should not put any excesses in the form of cuts and snacks on the table. Firstly, people are not supposed to linger at a feast. Secondly, this is not a holiday. Extra "gatherings" are disrespect for the memory of the deceased.

Approximate memorial menu

First option:

Borsch,
mashed potatoes with a chop,
uzvar and pie.

It is necessary to calculate in portions. Naturally, if the memorial dinner is held at home, then you need to prepare "in reserve". After all, those people who you did not count on may come to the funeral. It will be inconvenient to drive them out immediately after burial.

Second option:

meatball soup,
boiled rice, fish in batter,
compote and bun.

Third option:

noodle soup,
buckwheat porridge, fried chicken,
jelly and cookies.

Be sure to put kutya on the table. This dish is not discussed or changed. Whatever you cook, kutia should definitely be on the menu. It has more spiritual meaning than physical meaning.

The main dish is kutia

Kutia is a sweet cereal porridge. In each region, it is prepared in its own way. Some cook from rice, some from wheat. Only grain still needs to be able to cook so that people can eat it. Therefore, we give a recipe for kutya from rice. This portion is enough for forty people.

A universal recipe for funeral kutya

Cook a pound of rice until tender. When it cools down, add two hundred grams of dried apricots, raisins, one hundred grams of honey to it. You can also add chopped nuts, candied fruits, and other fruits. This is at the request of the cook. This dish is placed on the table in bowls or salad bowls. Those who came to the commemoration should take a spoonful and eat before starting the main meal.

Please note that nowadays not everyone is aware of this tradition. It is advisable to just tell people what needs to be done (or show by example). In addition, it is customary to wear kutya to the Temple for a memorial service. Father blesses her before the memorial ceremony.

How is the funeral held?

This feast traditionally ends the funeral ceremony. That is, people who have come from the churchyard are invited to the table. Everyone should wash their hands before entering the premises. To do this, they put a washbasin or a bucket of water, a towel on the street. It is considered a bad omen to enter any room with unwashed hands after the cemetery. This must be taken into account.

One seat at the table must be left unoccupied. It is being prepared "for the deceased." Close people sit nearby. The feast begins with the recitation of the prayer "Our Father". This is usually done by an older family member. Sometimes everyone reads Psalm 90 together. But this is optional.

The hosts invite all participants in the mourning ceremony to the table with the words:

"Please share our grief."

It is not customary to talk loudly at the table, much less swear, swear or laugh. By the way, sharp objects are also not used. Regardless of the menu, only spoons are served to the table (no forks are used). The feast should not last long. Everyone who has eaten gets up and leaves, having previously expressed condolences to family and friends.

Alcohol should be discussed separately. The priests do not recommend putting it on the table at all. But many people are sure that in this way they violate folk traditions. Therefore, in each case, people decide for themselves what to do. If the owners believe that alcohol is necessary during the commemoration, then they buy vodka and red wine. Usually Kahors. This drink is considered "church".

Guests are poured into glasses no more than three times.

Drinking during the commemoration is strictly prohibited. That is, it is necessary to ensure that no one drinks too much. Please note that everyone comes to the first commemoration. Among them there may be completely random people, hunters for "free booze". The mini should be looked after.

Dishes for 9 days, 40 days, six months, a year

These dates are traditionally considered "family" dates. It is not customary to come to these commemorations without an invitation or warning. The hosts usually know how many people are expected for dinner. On this day, the menu can be slightly diversified, as the tone of the feast changes. It is held not with the aim of feeding, but in order to sit and remember the deceased.

But this does not mean that a banquet should be held. You can add a couple of appetizers or salads, slices to a regular dinner. Alcohol should be treated in the same way as during the first memorial dinner. Don't turn a mournful meal into a fun feast. Approaching the table, you need to read "Our Father", then everyone sits down and has a leisurely conversation, remembering only the good things from the life of the deceased.

The more time passes after the funeral, the fewer people come to the funeral. That is life. Everyone has their own business. Therefore, a memorial dinner is not a strict tradition for six months or a year. At this time, only the closest ones are already gathering. It is customary to treat everyone else with sweets. More often than not, people buy candy and cookies. They are distributed to children, employees at work, neighbors or just strangers.

Consecration of kutya in the Greek church. Photo: monastiriaka.gr

Each person lives with a deep inner confidence in his own immortality and the immortality of his loved ones. Yes, he understands and even sees - people are dying, but the subconscious mind keeps calm confidence - this cannot happen to him and his loved ones. This is the property of a healthy human psyche.

When trouble comes to the house, it is always unexpected and very, very painful. People are at a loss. What to do?! Where to run?! Who will help ?! It is necessary to redo a bunch of previously unknown cases in the shortest possible time. Where to start, how to do it right?

Here people who have experience, strength and, most importantly, a kind heart come to the rescue.

Funeral rites, rules and traditions lead the relatives of the deceased according to a given algorithm, which, from the point of view of Orthodox Christians, is necessary for the good and salvation of the souls of the departed.

A memorial ritual exists in all religions of the world. It is believed that the life of the soul does not end with the death of the body, as does the love of living people for the deceased. The living can communicate with the deceased in the process of memorial rites and are able to help his soul to get to Paradise with their prayers and good deeds.

When the deceased is commemorated

On the day of death, after which the soul of the deceased is with the angels for two more days and is allowed to walk on the earth wherever it wants. And she wants to go home, to where her body and loved ones are. It is believed that a virtuous soul visits the places where he created the truth.
On the third day, that is, on the day of the funeral, the soul ascends to heaven to worship God. Third, because the deceased was baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, believing in the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity. And also because on this day the face (image) of the deceased changes. Meanwhile, the angels show the soul of the deceased Paradise, and on the ninth day they bring it to God.
On the ninth day, when, from the Orthodox point of view, the whole body is destroyed, except for the heart. And the soul is led to the places where the deceased sinned, they show Hell, demonstrating the torment of sinners. The soul of the deceased is horrified by what he saw and from the realization that he also sinned, about which the soul bitterly regrets and begs for forgiveness. This continues until the fortieth day.
On the fortieth day when the heart is also destroyed. And over the soul of the deceased, God's judgment is performed, determining whether he should be in Paradise or in Hell.
In six months and a year after death, birthday and Angel day of the deceased and on all relevant religious holidays annually: on Trinity, meat-eating, parental, Dmitrievskaya Saturdays, on the eve of Pentecost and on Radonitsa.

Why do we need memos

The commemoration is not just a meal, but a ceremony during which the loved ones of the deceased REMEMBER him and his good deeds, where memories of deceased ancestors are awakened, to whom they turn in prayer for help, and where they pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased, trying to alleviate its torment. In their prayers to God - the Holy Trinity, the living ask to forgive the deceased for all his sins, which were committed by word, deed and thought, and to credit him with three virtues: faith, hope and love.

Gathering with the whole family, the souls of the living turn to the help of ancient psychological mechanisms, striving to feel themselves as an integral part of their kind, which will protect, support, and endow them with new strength. And new spiritual strength, love and compassion that heals living people are pouring into the family circle.

Kutia - sweet memorial porridge

To hold a memorial meal, the first thing to do is prepare kutya(it is also called "kolivo") is a ritual porridge made from grains: wheat, barley or rice; sweetened with honey or raisins; and consecrated at the memorial service. The grains are a symbol of the resurrection of the soul, because in order for them to bear fruit, they must first be buried in the ground, where they decay, giving shoots - that is, new life.

From the Orthodox point of view, the body of the deceased is committed to the earth in order to decay and appear incorrupt at the moment of the universal Resurrection. And honey and raisins act as a symbol of the spiritual sweetness of the blessings of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Combining into a ready-made dish - kutyu, they express the confidence of the living in the upcoming resurrection of the dead and the immortality of the soul.

How to cook kutya: Soak the grains overnight or for several hours, cook until tender so that the porridge is crumbly. Toward the end, add sugar or warmed honey diluted with water (to make it easier to absorb) and raisins (which must first be washed, scalded with boiling water and dried). You can also add poppy seeds to kutya. Here you can see the recipe for kutya (proportions, tips). And another option.

Memorial Dinner Menu Principles

The memorial dinner itself should be:

simple and strict;
supporting strength: physical and mental (after all, it is known that food is an excellent antidepressant);
prepared from fresh and high quality ingredients, so as not to darken this mournful day with other accidents;
promote conversation and maintain a quiet spiritual atmosphere where grieving people who have gathered for spiritual communication in memory of the deceased can rest a little.

Of course, the composition of the dishes largely depends on the traditions of the family, its wealth and who, presumably, will come to commemorate (after all, people are not traditionally invited to the commemoration, people come themselves). If you think that there will be about as many people who have come to commemorate the number of guests for a big holiday, and you can prepare a memorial meal with the efforts of your family, having spent it at home, and there is no energy, time to think over and implement a complex menu, offer those who came a regular lunch (dinner ). So that it is approximately the same as you would feed your family on a weekend.

Traditionally in Russia, cabbage soup, porridge, pancakes, pies, jelly (hard, jelly-like - how to cook, you can see at the end of this jelly recipe) and compotes were prepared for the funeral table. You can offer the following simple and relatively inexpensive menu: borscht, buckwheat porridge, chicken cutlets, homemade products (salads, lecho, canned cucumbers and tomatoes), compote and puffs with banana filling.

Of course, if you wish, you can cut fresh vegetables and fruits, sausages and meat delicacies, serve a variety of salads, herring or other salted fish, sandwiches with caviar, pates, sprats.

I think the owners themselves will decide whether there is a need for this. The main thing is to remember that when remembering there is no goal - to feed to the bone and amaze with sophistication, high cost and abundance of dishes. But there is a goal - to saturate the guests, thanking them for their help and participation, remember the deceased, pray for the repose of his soul and forgiveness of his sins, and provide each other with psychological help and support. The main thing is not food, but people - living and dead, united by the grief of parting and the change in life - earthly and afterlife.

What to cook for the commemoration

So, let's start preparing the memorial meal.

Homemade borsch

Some believe that Borsch the next day, having infused and thickened, it only becomes tastier. Therefore, if we decide to cook it the day before, the taste of the dish will change, but it will not suffer. By the way, the word “on the eve” comes from the Greek “kanun” (basket), in which they brought food prepared for the memorial table to the church for consecration.

For borscht, prepare meat broth with bone. Pour vegetable oil into a preheated pan, carefully pour finely chopped onion. Once you have caught the sweet onion spirit spreading throughout the kitchen, add the beets and carrots, cut into small cubes. With this treatment, the beets will retain their color, and the carrots will sparkle with a bright orange flame in the depths of beets.

Simple and tasty borscht

The vegetables will simmer in the pan until they are soft to hard. Is a delicious meaty aroma already spilling out of the pan? It's time to introduce the broth to potato cubes (cut to the size of beetroot and carrot cubes. The components of the dish should make up a homogeneous assortment).

Remember that vegetables retain the most vitamins and flavor when cooked over high and high heat. A little later, pour vegetables from the pan into the broth, and when they are slightly boiled, add finely chopped cabbage, garlic, bay leaf, a few black peppercorns, diced tomatoes and bell peppers, of course, they should be the same size as the rest of the ingredients.

Already a little bit left. Let's try. Salted. Sweetened, if it seemed necessary. Add a drop of lemon or vinegar if the beets have slightly lost their gorgeous color. Everything.

There is also an option for cooking borscht with grated carrots and beets (recipe).

In advance you can to cook and chicken cutlets... This is a tasty, inexpensive, uncomplicated dish.

Cutlets

We need minced chicken - fresh or frozen (if, after thawing, it turns out to be too liquid, try draining the excess water. If it does not help, our cutlets will look more like pancakes in shape, which is still delicious).

In the minced meat, add onion, garlic, eggs (if it is watery, you can put more eggs than usual) and rolled oats into the minced meat.

Knead the minced meat, salt, you can slightly pepper. And now we form the cutlets, first dipping our hands in a bowl of water so that the minced meat does not stick to our palms. If it was initially watery, then we scoop up the future cutlet with a spoon and put it in a pan with hot vegetable oil. When the side in contact with the bottom of the pan is already strong enough and has changed color (here already for an amateur, someone likes fried, dark brown with a clearly felt crust, someone - tender, light), turn over and fry the cutlet on the other side ...

Then we put the fragrant meat delicacies in a saucepan, the bottom of which is filled with a low layer of vegetable oil, where they remain waiting for the whole cutlet batch for further stewing. When all the cutlets are laid, add water to about the middle of the meat structure, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat until bright characteristic aromas appear. You should not completely forget about the saucepan, sometimes look, maybe you should add water or shake it a little so that the cutlets do not stick to the dishes. You can throw bay leaf and tarragon into the cutlet water.

Here are other recipes for stewed cutlets and stewed cutlets in the oven with tips, the exact composition of the products, the number of pieces.

Sweet

While the cutlets are stewing, you can bake puffs... For this we take ready-made puff pastry and bananas.

Why this particular filling? The aroma of bananas has a calming, pacifying effect on a person, and the substances contained in them, splitting, cause a feeling of happiness. Let it be, albeit small, but help to the people who met at the memorial table.

If you don't like bananas or want to diversify the filling of the puffs, you can use sweet curd mass, a slice of apple, cheese strips or a mixture of grated cheese and fatty curd, and other filling.

Roll out the thawed puff pastry (yeast and yeast-free), draw rectangles with a knife, lay out the filling (in our case, a banana, cut it across into 4-5 pieces, if the pieces are too large, you can divide them lengthwise into halves).

We connect the edges of the dough, so that the filling is entirely in flaky captivity, pinch a little and bake in a preheated oven at t = 220 * C for 10-15 minutes, until browning. Then you can sprinkle the puffs with powdered sugar.

Compote

When cook compote? Probably better the day before, there will be less worries later. Here you are already guided by what you have in stock for the season. Do you have frozen berries or ready-made jars of compote / jam, or on the contrary - now is summer time and everything you need is in abundance. The compote should not be very sweet or overly sour; for a fresh and cool flavor, you can add a sprig of mint or lemon balm and a couple of spicy clove buds to it.

Throw berries, fruits or jam into boiling water, add a little sugar and cook over high heat, very quickly. The compote boiled a little (2-3 minutes) - turn it off immediately. You yourself probably know all this.

If you are in doubt about the proportions, for a 4-5 liter pan you need a jar of berries with a capacity of 0.7 - 1 liter or the same volume of chopped fruits, 0.5-1 kg of dried fruits or 0.5 liters of jam (it all depends on which what exactly are you preparing the compote. Some fruits and berries exude abundant juice, others are very restrained, not expressive and need to be supplemented with sour berries or lemon juice). If you have fewer berries, do not be discouraged, throw everything that you have, perhaps this will be enough. You try, if the taste of the compote is quite rich, tangible, then the filling is enough. If it's weak: add more berries (or jam, or a handful of dried fruits left over from cooking kutya, for example) or drip lemon juice so that freshness and pleasant sourness appear. If you are going to shade the compote with a citrus crust (lemon, orange, tangerine), then throw it into the ready-made hot drink so that it does not boil. Otherwise, the compote will taste bitter.

On the subject of sugar - for this volume of water, start with half a glass and try if it is sweet enough. When making sweet jam compote, sugar may not be required. In any case, try and be guided by your taste.

If you like jelly more, you can cook it (jelly recipe).

Buckwheat

On the day of the commemoration, only cooking buckwheat porridge, it will cook fairly quickly and does not require much effort. You can prepare hard-boiled eggs for her in advance, at the rate of 1 egg per glass of cereal. When 40 minutes remain before the meal, you can start.

We take a saucepan (not enameled) with thick walls, similar to a cast iron, fill it with water and cereals at the rate of 2 cups of water for 1 cereal.

If you have dried porcini mushrooms, throw them in at the rate of 1 mushroom per glass of cereal. They will enrich the taste and aroma of the dish.

We put on a very strong fire. Cover with a lid. And we keep it in this form for 4-5 minutes after boiling, then we turn to a medium-intensity fire (and in this interval we add lightly fried and finely chopped onions to the porridge. at the end of cooking, when there is much less water, we switch to a small fire.

Steam plays a leading role in the preparation of porridge, therefore, watch the position of the lid, it should fit snugly against the pan.

It is forbidden to stir. Strictly adhered to the ratio of components and temperature conditions, dishes with thick walls, will create the correct structure of the dish, pores will appear there for the evaporation of excess moisture, and any intervention will destroy this harmonious buckwheat structure. And all this is cooked for 15-16 minutes (if cereals are taken from 1 to 4 glasses. And a little longer if there are more cereals).

Not worth digesting. A special buckwheat aroma may disappear, the porridge will become tasteless. Turned off? Now let the porridge go, brew for 5 minutes.

Then, finally, you can add finely chopped eggs and add a spoonful or two of butter. Mix. Salt. Stir again. Tasty?!

It is believed that this dish acts as an independent dish, it is not a side dish. When you try it, you will see why. Best served hot.

What will happen on the memorial table

See, what do we get... There is a hearty and delicious borscht. Then we serve buckwheat porridge. You can add tender chicken cutlets to it. Or you can eat them separately, with black bread, having a snack with pickled cucumber or sweet pepper from lecho (which will be nice to combine with buckwheat porridge).

Even if we stop there, people will already be full. And we also have compote with puffs.

Of course, porridge can be replaced with potatoes, or high-quality ready-made dumplings can be served as a second, or you can stew potatoes with meat (all this is prepared very quickly, easily and inexpensively). You can form a table of numerous vegetable salads and salads with mayonnaise, sausage-cheese-fish-vegetable cuts, sweets and cookies.

Sample menu of commemoration after the funeral

A variant of a memorial table for 25-30 people, here is a sample menu for a memorial service:

kutia,
cutlets (3 kg minced meat),
fried chicken thighs (per piece, 30 pcs.),
mashed potatoes (a bucket of potatoes),
fish in batter (2 pink salmon),
smoked mackerel (2 pcs.), cut into circles,
herring (3 pcs.),
sausage, ham and cheese slicing (0.7-1 kg each),
Olivier salad (more than for the New Year, volume 3 liters),
tomato and cucumber salad (2 kg each + greens and onions),
sandwiches with red fish (1 large) in butter (pack) and a slice of cucumber (take from those on the salad);
apples (2 kg), cut into wedges,
bread, bun (2 pcs.),
2 types of sweets (2-3 sweets for each guest, about 1 kg in total),
sweet ready-made rolls (4 pcs.);
cherry jelly (4 liters).
Other drinks: mineral water (4-6 bottles, focus on the weather, better more), Cahors (3 bottles) and vodka (3 bottles).

There were 20-25 people left for the commemoration, and some of the dishes were not eaten to the end. Almost all cutlets disappeared, along with them mineral water was very popular. There was a decent salad of cucumbers and tomatoes, a little Olivier, thighs (one third), slices, rolls, a little mackerel and herring. A lot of vodka and wine also remained from the original. But this - see how it is customary in your family.

I can say that there was even a lot of everything, it could be remembered and much more modest. For 9 days it turns out that the closest ones come (they are much less than on the day of the funeral) and commemorate at a simple, hearty dinner.

Sample menu for a commemoration for 40 days

For example, for 40 days there were memorials for 12 people, the memorial table consisted of the following dishes.

If the commemoration takes place on fast days, then the food should also be fast. Transfer the onion and carrots to a bowl, and fry the mushrooms in the remaining oil for 4 minutes. For the second, at the Lenten memorial table, dishes with mushrooms are suitable. If the commemoration fell on the time of Great Lent, then on weekdays, the commemoration is not performed, but is postponed to the next (forward) Saturday or Sunday. Lean yeast dough prepared according to this recipe can be used to bake pies with different fillings, open and closed.

This is done because only on these days (on weekends during fasting) the Divine Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great are celebrated, and requiems are performed. Pancakes should also be present on the table. During the fast week, they are cooked without eggs and milk, but this does not affect their taste in any way. Kutya is served to guests as a first course, observing the following order. Even light wines at such a commemoration will be inappropriate.

If the memorial days fell on the 1st, 4th and 7th weeks of Great Lent (the most severe weeks), then only the closest relatives are invited to the memorial dinner. However, you should not replace this dish with soda and any sweet water from a bottle or juice. Compote has traditionally been present at the memorial table among the Slavs since ancient times. Traditionally, pies should be present at the memorial table.

For the first, cook any soup, cabbage soup or borscht, but not in meat broth, but with beans, beans, lentils. You can make mushroom puree soup. You can make soy burgers or even soy chops.

Memorial meal menu or What to cook for a memorial service

Wash, dry and chop the greens. Transfer half of the fried onions to a bowl and set aside. Prepare the filling: Rinse the rice and boil until half cooked in salted water. Drain the water. Wash carrots, peel and grate on a coarse grater. Peel the onion and chop finely. Prepare tomato-sour cream sauce: Combine sour cream with tomato paste, dilute the sauce with water, salt and pepper. Prepare the filling. Wash the mushrooms and cut into slices.

Kissel for commemoration

Peel the garlic and chop finely. Peel the onion and chop finely. Prepare the filling: combine water, tomato paste, add a little salt and mix well. Place the fish and vegetables in the oven over medium heat and bake for 40 minutes until tender. Put apples in a bowl, add granulated sugar, butter, a little water and simmer.

That is why, in the memorial custom, jelly was preserved in this form: with milk. You can make the oatmeal yourself by grinding the oatmeal in a coffee grinder. Pour hot jelly into molds, let it harden and cut into portions with a knife. Add a well-washed handful of raisins to the infusion and leave at room temperature for another half day.

Then everything is as in the recipe: let it brew for two days, drain, add sugar and raisins, let it stand again and put the bottles in the refrigerator. An obligatory part of the memorial meal is kutia - porridge made from millet cereals or rice with the addition of honey and dried fruits. According to religious beliefs, this dish symbolizes the resurrection of the deceased in the next world and, as it were, “sweetens” his stay in heaven.

First, the dish is brought to the closest relatives of the deceased, then plates with kutya are placed in front of friends, colleagues and acquaintances of the deceased. Kissel for funeral dinners has been prepared from time immemorial, and it would be correct to observe this long tradition.

So, on the memorial table, you can put vinaigrette, herring under a fur coat, sauerkraut, cucumber and tomato salad. The remaining dishes can be distributed to neighbors or to treat colleagues at work, asking them to remember a person close to you. Cut carrots, turnips and parsley into slices and place in a saucepan. Bay leaves and allspice are placed in cabbage soup along with carrots.

Finely chop the leeks and add to the pickle. Cut the trunks of spicy herbs into grains and put in a saucepan that has been removed from the heat. Let it brew under the lid. Disassemble and chop the cabbage leaves.

Salted mushrooms should be rinsed in cold water and chopped as well. In the same way, you can cook salted tomato caviar. Boil cauliflower in salted water and disassemble into inflorescences. You cannot salt cabbage soup from sauerkraut - you can ruin the dish. The cabbage soup tastes better the longer it is cooked. Soak large red beans in cold water overnight and then cook until tender.

Preparation of the pie: from 500 g of flour, 2 glasses of water and 30 g of yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, prepare a simple yeast dough, let it come up. Fry a lot of finely chopped onions in vegetable oil, layer the baked tortillas with them, stacking them one on top of the other, and bake the pie in the oven. Soak small white beans in cold water overnight. Pour the prepared beans with fresh cold water, bring to a boil, add half of the vegetable oil and cook for about half an hour.

Alcohol at the commemoration

Uzvar (vzvar) is a traditional dried fruit compote with honey. You can serve its modern counterpart: compote from frozen berries or dried apricots. They are again distributed to guests after the end of the meal. From the finished dough, form into balls and let them come up. If served with croutons, it will turn out to be no less satisfying and tasty than the usual meat first. For example, boiled potatoes in mushroom sauce, stewed potatoes with mushrooms, noodles with mushrooms. After frying in breadcrumbs, they will become a worthy replacement for their meat prototypes.

Lean pie dough is made according to the recipe below. As a filling, you can use mushrooms, onions, green onions, sorrel. The dough for lean pies can be prepared according to the same principle, choosing any vegetables, berries or dried fruits for the filling. Despite the restrictions, the memorial table, however, can be covered with a variety of delicious and hearty dishes.

The death of a loved one is a great grief. But, unfortunately, it cannot be avoided. If a dear person died, then loved ones have many questions. Where to bury? How to think over the menu correctly? Is a canteen or café better suited for such an event? And this is not a complete list of questions. Today we will talk specifically about the commemoration.

Such a meal is not just a meal, but a ritual during which loved ones remember the deceased, his good deeds. During this event, people read a prayer addressed to God. They ask to forgive the deceased for all his sins. Of course, the memorial dinner must be properly thought out, the menu of which must be composed correctly. To make it easier for you to decide on the list of dishes, we will tell you what you need to prepare for this event and why.

Funeral Dinner Principles

The lunch itself should be simple. Its main goal is to support the physical and mental strength of those who came to commemorate the deceased. Everything must be prepared from fresh ingredients. This is how a memorial dinner should be. Its menu can be varied. It all depends on the traditions of the family, wealth, as well as the preferences of the people who will come to remember. Although, of course, guests are not traditionally invited, they come themselves.

A funeral dinner is not a feast during which you need to feed those who have come to the end. The purpose of the commemoration is to saturate the guests, thank them for their participation, remember the deceased, pray for his soul. Here, as you understand, the main thing is not food, but people - dead and alive, who were united by the grief of parting.

Thinking over a memorial dinner

We will describe the menu a little later, now we will consider the main dishes that should be at this dinner. First, (the second option is colivo). What it is? It is boiled from grains (rice, barley and others), sweetened with honey and raisins. Such a dish was consecrated at the memorial service. Grain here is a symbol of the resurrection of the soul, and honey and raisins signify spiritual sweetness.

What do you need?

The list of products is small:

0.5 kilograms of rice;
200 grams of dried apricots;
three tbsp. l. honey;
nuts (optional);
200 grams of raisins;
1 liter of water (for soaking).

How is the dish prepared? Soak the grains in water overnight or for several hours. This is necessary in order for the porridge to turn out crumbly. You need to cook until tender. Towards the end, add honey diluted with water, as well as raisins and dried apricots. This is how kutia turns out.

Borsch

This is another must-have dish. For five liters of water we need:

700 grams of meat on the bone (best of all beef);
three potatoes;
two onions;
one beet (small);
three tomatoes;
one bell pepper (it is best to use red or green);
one cabbage;
a few peas of black pepper;
greens;
salt.

Cooking borscht for a memorial dinner

For such a meal, first prepare a broth of meat on the bone (cook for two hours). Then add the chopped potatoes there. Then take a frying pan, pour oil into it, put it on the stove, pour finely chopped onion there. After about three minutes, add carrots and beets (of course, also chopped) to the pan. If you process the beets in this way, then they will be able to retain their color.

The carrots will take on a bright, orange hue. Vegetables should be simmered in a pan until they become soft. Remember that carrots, onions, and beets retain their flavor and most vitamins when cooked over high heat. Then pour the contents of the pan into the broth, boil everything a little, add chopped cabbage, bay leaves, a few black peppercorns, chopped tomatoes and bell peppers.

Cook for another 15 minutes. Then you need to taste the dish and salt. Then you can turn off the heat and remove the borscht from the stove. Serve the dish hot, with sour cream. You can sprinkle with herbs.

Sweet

You can buy pies, or you can bake them yourself. We offer a recipe for banana puffs. What do you need?

packaging of ready-made dough (500 g);
bananas (200-300 grams);
icing sugar (to taste).

Cooking sweets for the funeral

Take ready-made puff pastry. Let it thaw, then roll it out. Then take a knife and draw rectangles with it. Put the banana filling on them (fruit cut into small pieces). Then join the edges of the dough so that the filling is completely in it. Next, pinch the products a little. Bake in an oven preheated to 220 degrees for about fifteen minutes. The products should be browned. Sprinkle the finished puffs with powdered sugar.

Compote

For cooking, you can use both fresh and frozen fruits. Compote should not be sweet or too sour. How to cook? Put a five-liter pot of water on the fire, let it boil, add fruit (about 1 liter filled jar). Then add sugar (to taste) and cook until tender (about an hour).

The first menu option for thirty people

Now let's talk about what the memorial dinner should be like. The menu after the funeral may vary. We offer our:

If you will be holding a memorial dinner for a year, this menu is quite suitable for this event. Kutia, however, can be removed from the list. It is an obligatory dish only at the commemoration after the funeral. And then - as you wish.

The second menu option for 12 people

Now we will analyze an approximate menu of a memorial dinner in a cafe or at home (for forty days). So, the list of products:

fried fish in batter (two kilograms);
mashed potatoes (2.5-3 kilograms);
salad "Olivier" (two kilograms);
cutlets (12 pieces, about 1.2 kg of minced meat);
sandwiches with red fish or sprats;
or potatoes (pieces 12-15);
pickles and tomatoes (about 1 kg);
5 liters of liquid (water + juices + compote)
sweets and sweet pies (optional).

If you plan to have another memorial dinner later, the menu for six months, for example, may be the same. Although, of course, you can adjust the list of dishes at your discretion.

Lean

Thinking over everything, pay attention to whether a commemoration fell on the fast. If the answer is yes, then you need to adjust the funeral dinner (menu). A lean set of dishes will not only be appropriate. but even necessary. What to prepare for such a commemoration? How to correct a regular menu by making it lean? Now let's make an approximate list of foods:

uzvar;
lean borscht;
kutia;
lean pies;
potatoes with mushrooms;
cabbage or carrot cutlets;
vegetable salad (cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers);
the vinaigrette.

Alcohol

We described in detail how to properly think over a memorial dinner, we also discussed its menu. Now let's touch on another important topic. "Which one?" - you ask. Is it worth drinking alcohol during the commemoration? There is no clear answer to this question. Some priests believe that a little red wine can be drunk during the memorial dinner. The Church condemns the use of alcoholic beverages during such a ceremony. Therefore, here you must decide for yourself whether you need alcohol at the memorial dinner or not.

Conclusion

Now you know how to properly make a memorial dinner. We examined the menu in detail. We have offered you a couple of options for sample lists of dishes for the commemoration. We hope that our tips have helped you decide on the choice of food for such a dinner.