It is Navroz today. The new year begins this day for the Parsi community. It is a combination of two Persian words – ‘Nav’ means new and ‘Roz’ meaning day. As per the Zoroastrian calendar, Navroz begins on the spring equinox.
Coincidentally, it falls around March 20-21 every year. This year we are celebrating it on March 20.
Significance of Navroz
The festival is also about spreading love and happiness. On this day of Navroz, friends and families exchange sweets, gifts and blessings.
Navroz celebration marks moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day. The Parsi families gather together to observe the rituals every year.
Parsis believe that Jamshed introduced the Parsi calendar and hence this day is also known as Jamshed-i-Nouroz/Navroz.
On this day they also clean and decorate the houses with toran and rangoli. Moreover, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also extended greetings on Navroz to the Parsi community.
Furthermore, it goes without saying that a Parsi festival is incomplete without delicious Parsi dishes.
Here are some of the dishes that one can try out at home on this day of Navroz:
Sali Boti
It is a traditional Parsi-style meat curry. Sali Boti comes with prominent flavours of jaggery, onions and tomatoes. You can serve it with crispy potato lachcha, adding a unique texture.
Mawa cake for Navroz
It is a Parsi-style cake made with fresh khoya, maida, egg, butter, vanilla essence and more.
Patra ni Machi
Besides vegetarian, here is fish recipe for you to relish. The dish is basically steamed fish, marinated with coconut, lime juice and mild spices.
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