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Next: 2 Apr 2027

Sizdah Bedar

The thirteenth day of Nowruz, spent outdoors with picnic dishes: ash reshteh, kebabs and sour tamarind-flavoured treats.

A tile drawn for this day, not a photograph.

Spices for Sizdah Bedar

On the 13th day of the new year Iranians leave the house for a picnic in parks and fields, carrying herbs, lettuce with sekanjabin (a mint and vinegar syrup), ash reshteh and kebab. Meat is grilled with saffron and onion and served with sumac sprinkled on top. Fruit leather and tamarind drinks are common as are dried lime and fenugreek in the rich herb stew ghormeh sabzi. Spices are mostly sprinkled at the table, not in pastes, so the picnic uses a small shaker of sumac as much as a spice cabinet.

The spices

SumacShaken over grilled meat and rice.SaffronMarinade and rice colour.FenugreekDried leaves in the herb stew.
About this page

Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Sizdebedar" 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.

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