Easy Rice Kollyva

This is a variation of the rice kollyva recipe I began developing while I was living in East Asia, with twists here and there inspired by the Venezuelan baking and desserts that my godmother might have enjoyed during her years living there after World War II. When I'm particularly short on time to prepare kollyva for an upcoming memorial this is my current go-to recipe, but it doesn't hurt that I love the taste as well. Give it a try whether it's for a service or not - memory eternal to all of our departed loved ones.

Easy Stuffed Peppers

I've been looking for easy recipes for meals here now that the Prophets' (or Advent) Fast has begun and this fits the bill nicely. It works for me as a meal (a couple of them, actually) when I'm dining on my own, but it could easily work as a side dish for a larger meal as well. I may experiment with a tomato sauce of some sort the next time I make this, but it's perfectly lovely served as is.

Rice Kollyva

In many Orthodox Christian countries - primarily in Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East - kollyva is made following the death of a loved one to be blessed at the funeral and at the memorials held over the first forty days following the death, at the 6 and 12-month anniversary memorials, and thereafter at the memorials held on the yearly anniversaries of the death. There are certain other holidays and events it is prepared for, but in our culture it is generally associated with funerals and the dead, a bittersweet reminder that when "a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies...it produces much grain" (John 12:24).

Fe'asting Bread

We're officially well into December, which means it's almost time to celebrate the feast day of St. Nicholas of Myra (6/19 December), under whose protection I placed my family not long after my conversion to Orthodoxy. Having a patron saint for an entire extended family is primarily a Serbian Orthodox custom, but when I first came across it the whole idea struck me as extremely practical. I try to pray, but I don't do anywhere near as much praying as I ought to, and so asking someone whose whole life was and is permeated by prayer and who always went out of his way to help others to pray for my family just made sense.

Greek-Style Kollyva

Kollyva is a basic part of Orthodox Christian life in much of Eastern Europe and parts of the Middle East. Although predating Orthodox Christianity, kollyva today is made in memory of the dead and blessed during memorial services in line with the Lord's saying that "unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24). Although kollyva can be made with rice or other grains, wheat is traditionally used in making it because of the Gospel passage.

Kollyva for the Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide

In most Orthodox countries kollyva is offered on certain days - St. Demetrius' Saturday, the Soul Saturdays during Lent, and the Day of Rejoicing among them - as well as for funerals and memorials. There are many ways to make kollyva, but the recipe here follows Greek practice in a general way, albeit with modifications I've made over the years since I started making kollyva.

Feel free to follow the recipe or to modify it to suit your tastes - there's no right way to make kollyva, as long as it tastes good ;-)! Over the years I've had everything from kollyva with Jordan almonds to kollyva with candy corn, so be as adventurous as you like. (There may well be as many ways to make kollyva as there are people making it!) If you are making kollyva in memory of a dead loved one or dead loved ones, then while you are preparing it pray as much as you are able for the people you want remembered later in church. God grant them (and all of us) to partake in His heavenly kingdom!