Haft mewa — an Afghan New Year fruit and nut salad of dried fruits and peeled nuts steeped in sweet rose-scented syrup. Refreshing, fragrant and naturally sweet.
Haft mewa is a fragrant Afghan fruit-and-nut salad traditionally made for Nowruz, the spring new year. Seven dried fruits and nuts soak together for days in a rose-scented syrup of their own making, turning sweet and ambrosial. It's a beautiful, naturally sweet celebration of renewal that's as nourishing as it is symbolic.
Prep 30 min
Total 30 min
Easy
- 110g Dried Apricots
- 50g Light Raisins
- 110g Raisins
- 50g Walnuts
- 50g Almonds
- 50g Pistachio
- 50g Cherry
- Splash Rose Water
Video
Preparation
- Wash the apricots and both raisins and place in a bowl, covering with cold water to 5cm above the fruit.
- Put the walnuts, pistachios and almonds in another bowl, cover with boiling water, and leave to soak, then peel off all the skins as they soften — a fiddly job, but worth it. Discard the water.
- Combine the fruits with the nuts and cherries, including the soaking juice from the fruit. Add the rose water, cover, and rest in the fridge for two days — the juice will become sweeter and syrupy.
- To serve, spoon the fruit, nuts and juice into individual bowls or cups.
Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen
- Soak the nuts in hot water so you can peel off the skins — fiddly, but it gives the classic clean, tender result.
- Use the fruits' own soaking liquid as the base of the syrup; it sweetens and thickens as it rests.
- Give it the full two days in the fridge so the flavours meld and the juice turns syrupy.
- Add the rose water sparingly — a little goes a long way.
Frequently Asked Questions
It means 'seven fruits' in Persian, referring to the seven dried fruits and nuts traditionally used. It's a symbol of abundance for the new year.
Peeling the soaked nuts gives a softer, cleaner texture and lets them absorb the syrup. It's traditional, though you can skip it for ease.
It keeps well in the fridge for several days, and the flavour continues to develop as the fruit and nuts soak in the syrup.
Traditionally it uses a specific seven, but you can adapt to what you have. Apricots, raisins, almonds, walnuts and pistachios are common.
