Rice sochivo

1. Dried fruits are washed and put in an enameled or glass container of a suitable size. Rinse them with boiled water, and then pour boiling water. In a separate bowl, we pour poppy seeds and also pour them with boiling water so that they are completely covered with it. We insist on both for half an hour. After the water from the dried fruits is drained into a glass, we leave it for the future. The water from the poppy can be poured into the sink.

2. Wash the rice in warm water until transparent, then transfer it to a medium-sized saucepan. Fill the rice with the water left over from the infusion of dried fruits, add more water if necessary (there should be no more than a glass of liquid in total). In the process of cooking rice, add a pinch of salt to it. Cook the rice until tender (soft) over medium heat.

3. Cut dried apricots into small pieces. raisins, if large, can also be cut in half or into several parts. Walnuts are cut into small pieces, and some are left in halves to decorate the finished dish. The swollen poppy is crushed in a blender for 2 minutes, after which we add a third of the chopped walnuts and chop everything again again. The nut-poppy mixture should be light and fairly uniform in consistency.

4. The rice is cooked - turn off the heating and add honey directly to the pan. It's okay if there's a little liquid left - that's how it should be. In the same place we put pieces of walnuts and dried apricots, raisins, crushed nut-poppy mixture. Everything is fine, but gently mix and let the juice cool down for an hour.

5. Decorate the finished dish with halves of walnuts and pieces of dried apricots. We serve it on the table warm or cold. Before serving, the sochivo can be kept in the refrigerator.

Festive mood!