Poppy milk

Poppy milk ("aguonų pienas") is a traditional Lithuanian drink or soup, one of the 12-dishes Christmas Eve Supper Kūčios. Usually it is eaten together with "šližikai", another traditional Lithuanian Christmas Eve dish.

Recipe

To make poppy milk, one or two glasses of poppy seeds are needed. Steep them in some hot water for a day or so, changing the water from time to time, until the seeds become soft. Then crush them in a food processor (or with a pestle in a mortar), until a white liquid comes out. Add some cold water (preferably water that has been boiled, and cooled), and strain. Crush them once more, add some water and strain again. This process is repeated several times in order to get a good poppy milk concentrate. Finally, the poppy milk concentrate, is diluted with some cold boiled water (the quantity of the water used, is a matter of taste, and certain family preferences, but the flavor of the poppy seeds should be pronounced). Finally, some sugar or honey is added to sweeten the beverage.