The New Persian Kitchen by Louisa Shafia

Author:Louisa Shafia [Shafia, Louisa]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 978-1-60774-358-3
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Published: 2013-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

A New Day

Spring is here, friends.

Let’s stay in the garden

And be guests to the strangers of the green.

We’ll fly from one flower to the other,

Like bees making the six corners

Of this earth’s hives prosperous.

—Rumi, Divan-i Kebir—Meter 1, translated by Nevit O. Ergin

Iran’s Zoroastrian roots are perhaps most telling during the winter and summer solstices and the fall and spring equinoxes. Once marked by religious observances, these seasonal milestones have evolved into days of national pride and celebration. The most significant of these events is the Persian New Year celebration Norooz (new day), which takes place in March on the spring equinox, when the sun crosses the celestial equator and makes night and day equal again for the first time since the fall equinox on September 21.

This cosmic event, akin to the Christian Easter celebration, marks the beginning of the Iranian New Year, a joyful time of cultural unity that’s observed by Persians in and outside of Iran. (Today, Norooz often carries a wistful undercurrent, as many expatriate Persians, forced to leave Iran in the years since the 1979 revolution, spend the holiday separated from family and friends.)

In keeping with the Norooz spirit of renewal, it’s customary for Persians to clean the house, get rid of clutter, buy new clothes, and settle disagreements. A ceremonial table called a sofreh is spread with symbolic items, including flowers, candles, a mirror, a goldfish in a bowl, eggs, an orange, and gold coins—all Zoroastrian symbols of hope and prosperity. (You can read more about sofrehs and the New Year table.)

Norooz celebrations are notable for a profusion of green hues, echoing the holiday’s emphasis on the reawakening of nature. Even the food at Norooz gets the green herb treatment: the classic dinner menu consists of Bean, Herb and Noodle Soup; as well as fish cooked with herbs, such as Parvin’s Tamarind Stuffed Fish, herbed rice; herb frittata; and Sabzi Khordan.

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