Irani Zoroastrians to celebrate Navroz or new year Wednesday

MUMBAI: The aroma of

Parsi festive delicacies

like dhansak, patra ni machhi and sali boti will waft in the air as the Iranis within the

Zoroastrian community

celebrate their new year Jamshedi Navroz Wednesday.


Navroz is the Iranian new year that is observed by all communities in Iran. It coincides with the spring equinox March 21.

Members of the

Parsi Gymkhana

at Marine Lines will converge at the inhouse restaurant named Good Food Concept (GFC) for their annual Navroz gathering. Manager Shekhar Singh says the restaurant has a full a la carte menu of dhansak, kid gosht, mutton and chicken dishes, vermicelli with sweet curd and falooda-ice cream.

Kyani Bakery will close by 4.00pm, says owner Farokh Shokri, after it finishes serving its patrons a sumptuous lunch of dhansak, sali boti, sali chicken and lagan nu custard.

Noshirwan Tata who is a priest at Bandra's Tata Agiary expects 400-500 people to arrive for worship. "Navroz is the new year of the Iranis and Faslis and is celebrated by all Zoroastrians abroad, mainly in Iran," he says.

For sweet lovers, the highlight of Navroz season is the availability of authentic baklava. Iranian Sweet Palace at Bhendi Bazar has laid out its stock of imported Iranian baklava, apart from sohan halwa, sherbet, kermani and shervin gaz made from dried fruit and nuts, zereshk berries used in berry pulao and mulberries or shetuth. Owner Hassan Irani opens the store for only one month in the year to cater to Navroz buyers.