The Dish that Means Nowruz is on its Way

These women in Estalakh Jan, a village in the northern province of Gilan, are cooking samanu in preparation for the Persian new year, or Nowuz, which begins on March 21. The dish, a sweet paste made from wheat and which sometimes includes crushed pistachios or other nuts, pre-dates Islamic Iran and is usually included in the haft-sin, the traditional table setting for the new year period.