HOW TO HOST A NOWRUZ SPRING FEAST
This year the Persian New Year known as Nowruz will be celebrated on March 21st. I happen to love Persian food so any excuse to enjoy it, like the Persian New Year, I take advantage of. Last week we were in Washington, DC visiting family and my son and I decided to prepare the food we both love for an early Nowruz family dinner. So in this post I’d like to share with you how to host a Nowruz Spring Feast of your own.
Nowruz is the day of the vernal equinox, and marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s also a moment when night and day are nearly the same length. So whether or not you are Persian, you can still celebrate the equinox and the beginning of Spring with some very tasty Persian food.
It is also interesting to note that the term Nowruz is a Persian compound word consisting of the words “now” and “ruz”. “Now” in Persian means “new” and “ruz” means “day”. So we shall also be celebrating a “new day”. Like I said, any excuse for a Persian party!
Begin by setting a lovely, Spring inspired table. Ours featured a centerpiece of hydrangeas and white roses, hemstitched linen napkins and mother of pearl napkins rings.
Our Nowruz Feast included the following traditional Persian Dishes. Click on each menu item and it will take you to my recipe, published in a previous post.
- Kebab Koobideh
- Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce
- Steamed Persian Style Rice
- Grilled Whole Tomatoes
- Fresh Cucumber/Tomato/Mint Chopped Salad
This is the first time I’ve cooked the Kebabs using traditional Persian Kebab Skewers. These skewers are 1″ wide and are designed to hold the ground beef, Koobideh style kebabs. I found these extra wide skewers to be perfect for the task and very ingenious. We used thin skewers to grill whole fresh tomatoes, a traditional Persian accompaniment to many Persian dishes. We also grilled chicken that had been marinated in a tangy yogurt sauce that we just threw together. Sorry, no recipe for the Chicken Kebabs.
You can get your own Persian Kebab Skewers by clicking here. They are high quality, sturdy, surprisingly inexpensive and now that I’ve tried them, there is no turning back.
A must side dish to serve alongside the kebabs is refreshing Cucumber Mint Yogurt Sauce. Add big dollops of the tasty stuff right on top of your kebabs along with a heavy dusting of Sumac and your taste buds will be in heaven!
We also whipped up a chopped salad using cucumber, fresh tomatoes and fresh mint and tossed it in a lemon vinaigrette. It was delicious!
So, I’ve given you a lot to chew on today. Nowruz isn’t until March 21st so you still have time to shop for and plan your own Nowruz feast.
Shop The Post
- Persian Style Kebab Skewers
- Sumac | A Delicious Spice with a Tangy Lemony Flavor
- Pure Linen Hemstitched Napkins
- Sur La Table Mother of Pearl Napkin Rings
So there you have it: HOW TO HOST A NOWRUZ SPRING FEAST
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