For UbuRoivas

March 23, 2007 8:42 AM

How about some Dhansak? Or maybe some Patra-ni-Machi? Is anyone in the mood for Chicken Farcha?? And to wash it down, how about a cool glass of Falooda with cream? Day before yesterday, was Navroze (Jamshed-e-Navroze), and the Zoroastrian community of Iran, along with the Parsis of India, gathered together at their Fire Temples to ring in the new year, with prayers and good wishes.
posted by hadjiboy (10 comments total)

So the Muslim New Year just followed the old Zoroastrian custom?
posted by Meatbomb at 9:12 AM on March 23, 2007

hadjiboy, Thanks to your interesting post I ended up reading a bit about the interesting Parsi history and how they became renowned philanthropists in India. Had no idea there are not that many (under 100,000 approx). The little I did know about the Parsis included that they, like the Tibetans, leave the bodies of the dead to be picked clean by vultures and that there is a Tower of Silence in Bombay.

The two Parsi men I know are/were wonderful and very different people. The twinkly and handsome, Sam Manekshaw, India's Field Marshal is Parsi. So was the late community activist, friend of the Dalai Lama and store owner, Nauzer Nowrojee.

Happy New Year to all Parsis! :)
posted by nickyskye at 9:55 AM on March 23, 2007

Meatbomb: The Muslim new year was back on Jan 20 of this year. There really isn't much of an established custom on that day for Muslims to follow (ie. special group prayers) though there is a tradition to fast as much as possible the first ten days of the lunar new year up to the day of Ashurah (for both Sunni and Shia brands).
posted by Burhanistan at 10:09 AM on March 23, 2007

Our Kurdish and afghani muslim refugees celebrated Nowroz (alternate spelling - it seems not to have an established spelling in English) on Wednesday.

Nowroz is also a fairly common name in this group - how nice to be named after a festival of new year & spring.

Although that some other nations in the Near- East celebrate the beginning of Spring like Iranians and Afghans, none celebrate Newroz so energeticly and vividly like the Kurds. For Kurds the name of Newroz is related to the legend of Kawa the Kurdish ( Med) blacksmith and his comrades, who revolted against the tyrrany of Izhdihak, the Tyran with 2 monsters on his shoulders , which fed only on the brains of young Kurdish people, the young people have to flee to the mountains where they were eventually led by Kawa, they marked the day of their planned march on the castle of Izhdihak by making bonfires on the top of the montains.
The Kurds mark this historic day which signals the beginning of Kurds as a nation by celebrating Newroz every year.

posted by dash_slot- at 10:49 AM on March 23, 2007

Oh boy, I love exotic food, but that Patra-ni-Machi might be morea more enticing recipe without the photo.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 11:07 AM on March 23, 2007

Oh dhansak, yes yes yes, mmmm.
posted by chrismear at 12:12 PM on March 23, 2007

Previous post on the Parsis.
posted by homunculus at 1:22 PM on March 23, 2007

Great dhansak recipe -- thank you. Probably my favorite food of anything.
posted by unSane at 6:40 PM on March 23, 2007

Famous Parsi
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:39 PM on March 23, 2007

Oh boy, I love exotic food, but that Patra-ni-Machi might be morea more enticing recipe without the photo.

Yup, I thought so too:b
posted by hadjiboy at 10:36 PM on March 23, 2007