Persian New Year 2020: From Haft Mewa to Samanoo, Delicious Nowruz Recipes for the Haft-Sin Table

Nowruz, also known as Navroze, Iranian New Year, Persian New Year, can be literally translated to "Nav" meaning "New" and "Roze" meaning "Day". Mainly celebrated by Iranians and Zoroastrians worldwide, the day welcomes the spring season cherishes Mother nature. According to the ancient traditions and rites, the festival of Nowroz is celebrated not only in Iran but also in some neighbouring countries. The Parsi community in India also celebrate the festival as the beginning of the new year. According to the Iranian calendar, it is also called the first day of the first month, the festival is celebrated in a special manner in society with happiness and enthusiasm. Nowruz (Navroz) 2020 Google Doodle: Persian New Year Celebrated by the Search Engine Giant with a Remarkable Illustration

Another important part of this festival is some delicious food. The Haft-Sin table (also called Haft Seen) is decorated and prepared using seven items whose names all start with letter ‘s’. Here's the list of things that the table is decorated with: Sabzeh (wheat, barley, mung bean, or lentil sprouts, representing rebirth); Samanu (sweet pudding, representing wealth); Senjed (Persian dried fruit, representing love); Serkeh (vinegar, representing ageing and patience); Seeb (apple, representing beauty); Seer (garlic, representing medicine) and Somāq (sumac, representing the horizon). Growing wheatgrass is another most common traditional preparations for Nowruz. However, if you want to celebrate the festival with some amazing food, here are a few recipes you can try:

Haft Mewa

Haft-Sin is almost incomplete without Haft Mewa. It is made out of seven fruits that are green and red raisins, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, dried apricots, and oleaster berries, all soaked in either water or sweetened rosewater. Watch recipe video:

Samanoo

Also known as, Samanu, Samanak, Sumelek Sumanak,  Sumalak Uzbek is a sweet paste made entirely from germinated wheat. This delicacy is prepared especially during Nowruz, usually in a large pot. Watch recipe video:

Afghani Kulcha

These melt-in-your-mouth cookies can act as a perfect dessert for your Nowruz meal. Easy to make, you can also store these cookies. Watch recipe video:

Happy Nowruz! We wish you all the best wishes while you celebrate the festival with your family and friends. Even if you are not Persian or Iranian, you can make these dishes to learn more about their tradition.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 19, 2020 07:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).