When Gilava Pour was a child, her family gathered in the Gilan region of Iran, by the Caspian Sea, to celebrate the Persian New Year. They were such a large family that they would form teams to get everything done.
“You’d pick your team, and then each night you would play bingo. And depending on how you’d do at bingo, the task would get assigned to you. If you're the winner of the bingo, you might either take the day off or be responsible for setting the table. And usually, the losers would end up washing the dishes. So, a massive punishment,” says the founder of , who aims to make Middle Eastern food accessible for all.
What is Nowruz?
Nowruz, , is the Persian New Year. While it originates in Iran, it’s also observed in Afghanistan and other countries in Europe and Asia.
Taking place on the spring equinox, usually on 20 or 21 March, Nowruz marks the first day of spring and symbolises renewal and hope. The festival lasts about two weeks, and food is an important element of the celebrations.
Exotic Bazaar founder Gilava Pour.
Preparing for Nowruz
In the weeks leading up to Nowruz, people thoroughly clean their homes and donate items they no longer need.
One of the most exciting traditions is Chaharshanbe Suri, celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz. Pour describes it as a night of bonfires lighting up the streets of every neighbourhood in Iran.
Iranians jump over fire during the celebrations of Chaharshanbe Suri on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year before Nowruz in Tehran, Iran. Chaharshanbe Suri is a Persian fire festival that takes place on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Persian calendar year. Credit: Amin Mohammad Jamali / Getty Images
“All the neighbours come together; you put on music and dance and jump over the fire. That bonfire night is a big night, and probably the most fun, especially for younger generations,” she says.
In Australia, these bonfires take place in parks. Pour attends an event in .
Setting up the Haft Sin table
At the centre of the Nowruz celebrations is the Haft Sin table, which features . These include seer (garlic) for health, serkeh (vinegar) for patience and sabzeh (sprouted greens) for rebirth.
Sabzeh is often grown from wheat sprouts, but Pour has adapted. “This year, I'm doing chia seeds because I was really late. I want something that grows fast. You can get lentils, whatever, that can sprout,” she explains.
The seven foods are not for eating; they are displayed alongside other things such as a goldfish (for good luck) and a mirror (for clarity), as well as a holy book, like The Divān of Hafez.
“You would be talking and reflecting on the year before and then reading some poems from the book of Hafez,” explains Pour.
What to eat for Nowruz
Once the new year is rung in, it’s time to eat. Since Nowruz celebrates spring and rebirth, herbs are the star ingredients.
A classic Nowruz dish is (herb rice with fish). “In Iran, we cook the rice first and then steam it,” Pour explains. “When steaming, you layer it with different things and that's how you make all these different beautiful Persian mixed rice. For the herb rice, you layer the rice with different herbs and then you serve it with fish.”
Fish and herb fritters on herb rice Credit: Gilava Pour
When in the Gilan province, she would have the fish with a pomegranate and walnut sauce. “As you cut into your white fish, you get the sweetness, the sourness, and that walnut combination. Then, you put it on that herb rice. It’s so good!” exclaims Pour.
Another Gilani specialty is panir bereshteh, a dish of scrambled eggs, fried feta, and dill.
Across Iran, , a parsley, coriander, and dill omelette or fritter bound together with eggs, is another staple for Nowruz.
When the holiday coincides with Ramadan, as it does this year, those who fast break their fast with the Nowruz meal at Iftar.
For the 12 days following Persian New Year, people visit extended family and continue the celebrations.
Ash reshteh, a noodle soup served 13 days after Nowruz Credit: Simon Griffiths and Ebrahim Khadem Bayat
On day 13, known as Sizdah Bedar, everyone heads outdoors for a picnic and eats , a hearty noodle soup with herbs and legumes. “You make a big pot of Persian noodle soup, you take your own warmer, a few bowls, a few games, go out with your family and friends, and have a picnic,” says Pour.
Bringing the Nowruz spirit to Australia
Although Pour grew up in Tehran, her fondest childhood memories are of celebrating Nowruz in Gilan with her extended family.
“The family and the community were really strong. The kids were always helping with preparing the food,” she recalls. “That connection with nature, that picking of the herbs, chasing the chickens and everything was really fun for me.”
Celebrating Nowruz in Australia, away from her extended family, is different but still meaningful.
“Here, the Persian-speaking community comes together and they have community events, something that never happens in Iran because everyone celebrates with their own family,” she says. There are bonfires in parks, restaurants hosting Nowruz events and big community picnics on Sizdah Bedar.
She finds comfort in the shared experience. “We all picnic together so we don't feel like we're just a random group of people on a random Tuesday in a random park, sitting, having some noodle soup,” she says, laughing.
We feel like a community by coming together and having this event.
And while Nowruz in Australia coincides with the autumn equinox rather than spring, its essence remains unchanged.
“Nowruz is about eating something wholesome and eating something nourishing. And as we are entering autumn, adding these nourishing herbs, because we can access herbs any season these days, prepares our body for the colder months,” she concludes.
