New year: spices that mark them
Foods and spices that welcome a new year in the lunar, solar and religious calendars.
New Year celebrations have their own spiced dishes, from Persian Nowruz rice and herbs to the sweets and soups of Lunar New Year, Hogmanay black bun and Vishu in Kerala.
Spring new years
Nowruz, the Persian new year at the spring equinox, uses saffron and sabzi herbs in rice and fish. Songkran in Thailand, Vishu in Kerala, Baisakhi in the Punjab and Pohela Boishakh in Bengal also fall in spring, each with traditional foods.
Winter new years
Lunar New Year tables include dumplings, noodles and sweet rice cakes. Hogmanay in Scotland has black bun, a fruit cake with spices, and many European new year breads use anise, cinnamon or cardamom.
Luck and foods
Many new year dishes are chosen for good fortune, for example lentils in Italy, rice in Asia and spice cakes in Europe. Beliefs vary.
New year on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreMixed spice
A British blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice for sweet bakingBlend · Warm and sweet-spiced · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFenugreekØلبة (hilba)
The cuboid seed of an annual legume, prized for its bitter warmth and maple aroma.Seed · Bitter · Warm and sweet-spiced
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Mixed spice: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fenugreek: Yak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source