Pan Fried Rockfish with Herbed Rice, Sabzi Polow ba Mahi

 Sabzi Polow ba Mahi – Herbed Persian Rice with Rockfish

Persian New Year or Nowruz is a Persian holiday that celebrates the first day of spring, which is the vernal equinox. For Iranians, Zoroastrians, and some other peoples in Central Asia, this is the most important holiday of the year. It’s Persian Christmas, for a simplistic comparison, families gather around to celebrate the coming of the new year. Nowruz symbolizes rebirth and new life. Many of the dishes and decorations that Persians use for this holiday are supposed to represent those themes.

Nowruz literally translates to New Day, and it marks the beginning of the new year in the Persian Calendar. Currently, in the Persian Calendar the year is 1393, not 2015. It’s called the Solar Hijri calendar and its year 0 is supposed to fall in line with when the Muslim Prophet, Muhammad, migrated to Medina in 622 A.D.

So let’s touch on some Nowruz basics. There a couple of key events/traditions that occur prior to actual Nowruz even happening.

The first of which is Khouneh Tekouni or basically Spring Cleaning. This is done so your house is clean and fresh for the upcoming new year. This allows you to start on the right foot.

Then you have the setting up of your Haft Seen (7 S’s), this is the Persian equivalent of a Christmas Tree. Usually it’s a large table, in our house it was usually the dining room table, and it is decorated with seven symbols that start with the letter Sin or S in Farsi. The table is also decorated with other symbols that represent life and rebirth. Fun fact, it used to be called Haft Chin before the Arab invasion of Persia. It was later changed to Sin due to the lack of the Ch sound in Arabic.

So on this table you have the following:

The Haft Seen items are:

1. Sabzeh – (Persian: سبزه‎)-wheat, barley, mung bean or lentil sprouts growing in a dish – symbolizing rebirth
2. Samanu – (Persian: سمنو‎)-sweet pudding made from wheat germ – symbolizing affluence
3. Senjed – (Persian: سنجد‎)-dried oleaster Wild Olive fruit – symbolizing love
4. Sir – (Persian: سیر‎)- garlic – symbolizing medicine
5. Sib – (Persian: سیب‎)- apples – symbolizing beauty and health
6. Somāq – (Persian: سماق‎)sumac fruit – symbolizing (the color of) sunrise
7. Serkeh – (Persian: سرکه‎) – vinegar – symbolizing old-age and patience

The other items that are on the table are:

1. Mirror – symbolizing Sky
2. Apple – symbolizing Earth
3. Candles – symbolizing Fire
4. Golab – rose water symbolizing Water
5. Sabzeh – wheat, or barley sprouts symbolizing Plants
6. Goldfish – symbolizing Animals
7. Painted Eggs – symbolizing Humans and Fertility

When the coming of the new year is imminent, Iranians will gather around this table and countdown to the new year. So it’s very important, therefore having a decked out Haft Seen is always a critical requirement for Persian moms all over the world.

Another major Nowruz event is, Chahārshanbe Suri (Persian: چهارشنبه سوری) which translates loosely to the Wednesday Festival. It’s held on the last eve of the Wednesday of the year before Nowruz. People usually get together at night and create a nice bonfire. During said bonfire you then jump over the fire like so:

As you jump over it you shout:

So yeah it’s really dangerous and you need to be sure you don’t light yourself on fire. But other than that it’s a blast. We would do this as kids in my Mommon Joon’s back yard, can you imagine letting your children do that now? The 90’s were a blast man.

The whole night is a party, with people singing and laughing. It’s really an event in itself, and if you want to learn more about it go here. 

So now you have the day itself, Nowruz, family and friends get together and have a party to celebrate the new year. Like I said before, everyone gathers around the Haft Sin once the countdown to the new year is on. Once the clock strikes midnight in Tehran, Iran, everyone kisses one another and adults will typically give money or presents to the kids in the family. Obviously, this was my favorite part of the holiday, because who doesn’t love SECOND CHRISTMAS (in the mind of a child). Persian parents, aunts, and uncles will hand out two dollar bills as they’re supposed to signify good luck. Parents will also give more money or a present to their kids and nieces and nephews. This is called Eidy (pronounced like eighty, but with a d sound instead of a t sound).

After that, everyone gathers for a huge meal.A bunch of special dishes are made on this day to represent the themes of Nowruz. One of the most important meals on this day, if not the most important meal, is Sabzi Polow ba Mahi or Herbed Rice with Fish. The fish in Iran is typically a white fish and the fish that most closely resembles that is Rockfish or Chilean Sea Bass.

I love this dish, it’s light and delicious. My Mom always uses Rockfish filets she then breads & fries them. She then serves them with Sabzi Polow which is the herbed rice. The rice is herbed with dill, parsley, and other Persian herbs.

Sabzi Polow ba Mahi – Herbed Persian Rice with Rockfish

Recipe

Ingredients

1 Pound of Rockfish Filets

1 Cup of Flour

1 Cup of Breadcrumbs

2 Eggs

2 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Pepper

1 Tsp. Dried Dill

1/2 Tsp. Cumin

1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

For the Rice

1 Cup of Basmati Rice

1/2 Cup of Fresh Dill

1/2 Cup of Parsley

1/2 Cup of Sadaf Sabzi-Polow Herb Mixture

2 Tbsp. Oil

1 Tbsp. Salt

4 Tbsp. of Saffron Water

Method

For the Fish, mix the seasonings into your flour. Then set aside three bowls, one bowl for the flour/spices, one bowl for the breadcrumbs, and one bowl for the eggs.

Dip your fish into the flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Then do this again. Set aside and allow the mixture to stick to the fish.

In a deep pan, pour enough peanut oil to about a half inch thickness in the pan. Once it’s hot enough, start frying your fish. Fry the first side for about 4 to 5 minutes, making sure you don’t burn the crust. The crust should be golden brown. Flip and then fry the other side. Once both sides are golden brown, you place the fish on a wire rack to allow some of the excess oil to drip. Then place that filet on a baking sheet and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes on 350. Make sure that the fish does not burn or that the crust gets any darker.

For the rice, first soak your rice in water for 4 to 5 hours. Strain out the cloudy water and soak some more water over it until the rice water is clear.

Then boil 2 Cups of water in a large pot, once it’s boiling, add your rice (with the water strained). Once the rice grains, elongate, strain the rice in a wire mesh strainer. Add your oil to the pot, and then layer your rice in the pot with the herbs. Set aside 1/4 cup of the cooked rice for decoration with the saffron.

Cook the rice on low for another 30 to 40 minutes allowing a tahdig to form. Make sure that the lid is on the pot and that it is wrapped in a clean towel. This will prevent the water from the steam dripping back onto your rice.

Serve with your fish and enjoy!