Recipes, traditions, and stories celebrating Persian heritage, family culture and cuisine.
The winter solstice arrived, bringing the longest night of the year and, with it, Shab-e-Yalda. An ancient Persian tradition marking light’s victory over darkness, it sounds lofty in theory. At my house, it’s more accurate to say it’s a marathon…
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Confession: I’m a little superstitious, and celebrating Persian traditions like Nowruz and Sizdah Bedar in the UK is therapy when we don’t get to see family. After a rather muted pandemic year, we were determined to bring our Persian customs…
View PostEvery year, as spring arrives, I find myself wrestling with the Sofreh Haft Sin, our Persian New Year table. For the uninitiated, Nowruz (“No-rooz”) marks the first day of spring and the start of the Persian calendar. And the Sofreh…
View PostIf you’re imagining a quiet evening at home, think again. As the Persian New Year edged into our lockdown lives, we went full-on for Chaharshanbe Suri. For those who don’t know, Chaharshanbe Suri is a Persian festival celebrated on the…
View PostThis year, our Persian tradition of welcoming a new pet fish for Nowruz coincided with post-lockdown anticipation and the excitement of little C, who had been looking forward to it for months. What I hadn’t expected was just how much…
View PostColouring eggs this year turned into one of our lockdown highlights. For our little multicultural family, it wasn’t just about the mess (though, yes, there was plenty of that), it was all about connecting childhood memories, culture, and a touch…
View PostSosis Bandari has quietly become one of my ultimate fast-food lifesavers. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, this dish swoops in to save the day with minimal effort, and yet, it still tastes like you’ve put in far more work than you…
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