Nowruz is the Afghanistan and Iranian New Year, which falls on or around March 21 on the Gregorian calendar and marks the beginning of spring. In Afghanistan, people prepare many delicious dishes for Nowruz, and one of the most popular is called “Haft Mewa.” This dish is a mixture of seven different dried fruits and nuts.
Haft Mewa means “seven fruits,” but it does not have to include exactly seven. A combination of seven (or more or less) dried fruits and nuts is placed in a bowl, and hot water is added to let the flavors blend into a sweet and refreshing syrup.
This traditional recipe is simple to make. If you can find pre-peeled nuts, it will save time. Otherwise, soak the nuts in water for at least 30 minutes to make peeling easier. Common ingredients for Haft Mewa include raisins, pistachios, walnuts, dried apricots, almonds, and Russian or Persian olives, which are called senjed in Persian.
Senjed is a delicious dried fruit from the oleaster tree. Many people enjoy eating it on its own. Once all the dried fruits and nuts are combined and covered with hot water, let the mixture sit at room temperature overnight. The next day, serve it cold. Keep any leftovers in the fridge to stay fresh.
Watch a short video on how to make Haft mewa
What you need to make this delicious recipe
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Pistachio (no shell)
Russian Olive/ Persian Olive (Sinjid)
Dried Apricots (with and/or without seeds)
Haft Mewa for Afghan New Year
Course: AppetizersCuisine: Afghan10
servings1
hour1
hourNowruz is the Afghanistan/Iranian New year which falls on or around March 21 of the Gregorian calendar and it marks the beginning of spring. In Afghanistan, people prepare many delicious dishes and one of them is called “Haft mewa” which is a mixture of seven different dried fruits and nuts.
Ingredients
Pistachio
walnuts
black raisins
Red raisins
silvered almonds
Green raisins
Russian Olive/ Persian Olive (senjed)
Organic Dried Apricots (with and/or without seeds)
Blanched whole almonds
Directions
- To peel the nuts, boil some water.
- Place the pistachios and walnuts in two small separate bowls.
- Pour the hot boiling water over the nuts and let them soak for at least 30 minutes.
- Gently peel the skin off the pistachios and walnuts using your hands.
- Wash all the dried fruits in warm water. This includes raisins, pistachios, walnuts, dried apricots, almonds, and Russian or Persian olives (senjed).
- In a large bowl, combine all the dried fruits and nuts. Add hot water to cover them completely and let the flavors blend into a sweet syrup.
- Leave the mixture at room temperature overnight. Serve cold the next day. Store any leftovers in the fridge to keep them fresh.
Recipe Video
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