Make Nowruz Magic With Samanu


This article is adapted from the March 15, 2025 edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here.

My boyfriend, Peyam, grew up celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year. We’re currently planning the menu for our second annual Nowruz party, and, as with many holidays, certain things just have to be on the table.

Peyam insists that it’s not Nowruz without kuku sabzi, a frittata-like baked dish of herbs and eggs, and sabzi polo mahi, herbed rice with fish. Nowruz falls on the spring equinox (March 20 this year), so many classic Nowruz dishes are made with herbs to represent spring’s triumphant return. And in Persian cuisine, herbs like mint and parsley are not mere garnishes: They are vegetables, eaten whole and chopped, raw and stewed. Like English “greens,” the Farsi word sabzi refers to leafy plants as well as their color, but it’s more inclusive. Persian “greens” are not just spinach and lettuce, but basil, dill, cilantro, fenugreek; anything fragrant, fresh, and alive.





Source link

About The Author

Scroll to Top