Norooz {Persian New Year} marks the first day of Spring and Iranians celebrate Norooz by setting a traditional and decorative table of items that all symbolize something good to come in the new year. One of the main elements that make up the traditional new year spread {sofreh haftseen} is “sabzeh”, also known as sprouts. As a first generation Iranian/American, growing sabzeh is something new to me. This cultural tradition is one that my mom always kept up in our home growing up and I find it so important to keep up with as well now that I am a mom.
A little history on what makes up the sofreh haftseen can be found in one of my previous posts here. Essentially sabzeh represents growth and renewal on the traditional new year spread. There are two ways to grow sabzeh. One is with the use of lentils and the other one is with wheat. Lentil sprouts are a little easier to grow and I always opt for lentil sprouts because I also like the way they look. Growing sabzeh isn’t too difficult but it does take a lot of tender loving care and it can take a couple weeks to get them the height you will want for your haftseen spread.
1. You will want to soak your lentils in a bowl of water for a few days. You should empty the water every day and replace it with fresh clean water. Make sure to soak enough lentils (2-3 cups) that will fill up the dish you intend to grow them in. When you get ready to transfer the lentils to the dish you will be using on your haftseen, make sure the lentils aren’t too thick or too much when layered. I always make sure I have enough lentils for a few final dishes in case one of them doesn’t sprout nicely.
After a few days of your lentils being soaked, transfer them to your final dish that you want them to grow in. When you start to see that some of the lentils have a “little” sprout, you are golden. They usually have a little opening where you can see a little white tip. It’s important not to let the lentils soak too long in the bowl of water because they can go bad. The soaking process from my experience isn’t usually more than a few days.
2. Once the soaked lentils are transferred to the final dish, cover the entire layer of lentils in the dish with a damp paper towel. I make sure to keep the paper towel damp by spraying it with water throughout the day with a spray bottle. You don’t want the paper towel to be too wet either because it can make the sprouts go rotten. During this time while I wait for the lentils to sprout more, I place this final dish under the sun. Whether it’s in my windowsill or somewhere in your backyard, chase the sunlight. You don’t want them to dry out from the sun so I find that I dance with this dish and the amount of sun it gets. You will notice the lentils sprouting, and not all evenly but they will all catch up to each other. Once the sprouts are green under the damp paper towel, take off the paper towel and let it grow in the final dish uncovered. Continue to spray it with water throughout the day. Again, you don’t want to over water because this can make the sprouts go rotten.
After several days they start to grow rather quickly and so beautifully! It’s such a fun process and one that would be nice to do with your children. I intend on having my children help me grow our sabzeh so that they can learn the beauty of nurturing something and seeing it grow.
I hope this post is a helpful one. Please leave me any questions or comments in the comment box. Would love to hear from you guys.
Wishing all my readers who celebrate this traditional holiday much health, happiness and success. Noroozehtoon Mobarak!
Thanks for this! How long before new year do you start the process, so by the new year time its fully grown and green?
Thank you for reading! I usually give myself two weeks for the entire process. It depends on how long and how full you like your sabzeh. This is my experience only with green lentils.