Next: 21 Mar to 2 Apr 2027
Nowruz
The Persian new year at the spring equinox, with sabzi polo mahi, herbed rice and fish, and saffron in every sweet.
Spices for Nowruz
Nowruz is set by the equinox and lasts 13 days. The traditional meal is sabzi polo ba mahi, rice with a dense mixture of fresh herbs, served with fried white fish, and kuku sabzi, a herb omelette with barberries and walnuts. Saffron, ground with a pinch of sugar and bloomed in hot water, colours rice, tahdig and sweets; rose water, cardamom and pistachio perfume pastries such as baklava and sohan. The haft-sin table includes sumac, or somaq, one of seven items beginning with the letter S, and garlic (sir) and vinegar as well. Iran grows most of the world's saffron, so the spice is both a gift and a staple.
The spices
Also part of it, and being written: Barberry (Sour dried berries in herb dishes and rice.).
Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Nowruz" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Sicilian sumac: Dedda71, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Cardamom: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saffron: Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source