Nowruz Traditions⚖️Harmonious Hot & Cold (Garm o Sard)

Sabze Eyd – A Complete Day By Day Guide

سبزه عید نوروز

We’re about 12 to 13 days away from Saleh Tahvil. Sabze is one of the most important center pieces on the Haft Seen spread. There are three types of seeds usually used to grow the Sabze for Norouz: Wheat, Lentils, and Mungs. I’ve decided to grow all three and see how fast and how pretty they grow. My general knowledge is that Wheat takes roughly 12 to 13 days to reach a good height for your Haft Seen spread. Lentils take a little longer (3 days or so). Mungs should be the same as Lentils.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
12-14 days
Total Time
14 days
Servings
1 centerpiece
Difficulty
Medium
Sabze Eyd – A Complete Day By Day Guide
The Authentic Sofreh Pairing

In Persian tradition, dining is a harmony of hot and cold temperaments (Garm o Sard). Serve this dish alongside:

Haft-Seen Table SpreadSamanooSenjed, Seeb, Serkeh, Seer, SomaghDecorated Norouz Eggs
✨Persian Kitchen Tradition

Layering Aromatics: Build flavor from the ground up with golden caramelized onions (piyaz dagh), earthy turmeric bloomed in warm oil, and patience over gentle heat—allowing herbs, spices, and tart accents to meld into a balanced bite.

Ingredients

مواد لازم
Recipe Yield
1 centerpiece
Unit System
Prep ready: 0 of 7

Step-by-Step Instructions

طرز تهیه
1
Day 1 — The Initial Soak: First the Lentils (Adas), Unpelted wheat (Gandom’e sabze), and Mungs (Mash) need to be soaked in water in separate bowls. Make sure you check on them since they tend to absorb the water quickly and bloat (I experienced this with the Lentils and the Mungs). Once that happens add more water because they should always be covered with water (roughly an inch or maybe 1-2 centimeters).
2
Day 2 — Refresh Water: Change the water for all three bowls with fresh water. Nothing else needs to be done today.
3
Day 3 — Transfer to Damp Cloth: This is the day that if you are using unpelted wheat or Lentils you should remove them from the water and place them on a damp cotton cloth, then place another damp cloth over them to keep them moist. Now, if you are using mungs, you would need to only change the water for the mungs and not transfer them onto the damp cloth yet.
4
Day 4 — Keep Damp: Keep the cloth over the wheat and the lentils damp by sprinkling or spraying water on them. And change the soaking water once more for the mungs.
5
Day 5 — Move to Final Dish: By this day your wheat and lentils are ready to be moved to their final decorative dish. In the new dish you will not need the cloth on the bottom anymore, but keep a damp cloth on top of them until the sprouts grow a bit more. For the mungs, you need to transfer them to a dish with a cotton cloth on the bottom and on top of them and keep them damp.
6
Day 6 — Let Roots Strengthen: Nothing changes for this day. Keep everything moist. The mungs still need one to two more days to get stronger before we remove their bottom cloth.
7
Day 7 — Sprouts Emerging: More sprouts are showing for the Lentils and the Wheat! (I’m beginning to have a feeling that the Mungs are not doing too well compared to the wheat and lentils, but keep misting them).
8
Day 8 — Getting Longer: The sprouts are getting noticeably longer. Keep them damp and give them some natural indirect light.
9
Day 9 — Remove Top Cloth: Today is the day I’m going to remove the top cloth because I can see that the wheat and the lentils have long green sprouts. Once you remove the top cloth, make sure to water them regularly so they don’t dry out.
10
Days 10 to Sizdah Bedar: From day 10 until the end (Seezdah be dar) you just need to water your Sabze daily. Make sure to drain excess water so the roots don’t rot. Tie a pretty red ribbon around it for your Haft Seen table! Have a wonderful Norouz. Eide hamegi mobarak 🙂 (Feel free to ask questions in the comments!)