Haft mewa recipe (Afghan fruit and nut dish) - Rhubarbarians (2024)

Published: Feb 28, 2022 · Modified: Apr 12, 2023 by Trish Bozeman · This post may contain affiliate links · 14 Comments

How to make haft mewa! Haft mewa is a traditional Afghan fruit and nut dish prepared for Nowruz, the Afghan New Year.

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Today, we are making a very special dish: haft mewa!

Haft mewa is a fruit and nut dish from Afghanistan that is traditionally served during Nowruz, the Afghan New Year. It's a dish made by soaking dried fruit and nuts in liquid to create a delightfully sweet mixture.

It's traditionally served around March 21 or the first day of spring to celebrate the Afghan New Year.

I was inspired to make haft mewa when I prepared an Afghan feast for friends. I was inspired by so many dishes from Afghanistan, but this one really seemed special and delicious and I knew it had to be on the table at the feast.

I gathered inspiration from many articles across the internet and created this recipe based on what I could find here in the United States. I reached out to Humaira from Afghan Culture Unveiled and she very kindly let me use her haft mewa recipe as inspiration.

Why you'll love this

If you're like me, you love dishes that have tradition and meaning behind them. Haft mewa celebrates the beginning of spring and the beginning of a new year.

The flavor and sweetness of the fruits and nuts create a syrup that gives haft mewa such a unique consistency. The dried fruits soak up the liquid and what's left is sweet and delicious to drink.

It's a dish that you'll have to make to experience!

More side dishes to celebrate Spring:

• Roasted rainbow carrots with pistachio relish
• Golden beet salad with arugula and goat cheese
• Honey butter roasted radishes with lemon and thyme

Ingredients and equipment

Here's what you need to make haft mewa! (Full ingredients and instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article)

Ingredients:

• Shelled and peeled nuts. I used walnuts, pistachios, and almonds.
• Dried fruits. I used two different kinds of raisins, cherries, and apricots.
• Rose water. You could swap this for pure vanilla extract.
• Filtered water.

Equipment:

• If the nuts aren't peeled, you will need a large pot along with a stove top or cook top to boil water. You'll also need a towel to place the peeled nuts on.
• A colander or large bowl to rinse the fruit.
• A large serving bowl.
• Measuring cups.
• Measuring spoons.
• Cover for the serving bowl. Plastic wrap works great if you don't have a cover.

Pro tip: Try your hardest to find peeled nuts. It can be quite time consuming to peel the nuts, especially the walnuts.

Step by step instructions

Here's how to make haft mewa! (Full instructions are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this article)

• First, make sure that your nuts are peeled. Don't skip this step!
• To peel the nuts: in a large pot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the walnuts and pistachios. Let sit until water is slightly cool, about 15 minutes, and add almonds. Let sit for about another 15 minutes, or until water is luke warm. Peel the nuts in the bowl of water with your hands and set the peeled nuts aside on a towel. This can be very time consuming so be patient and enjoy the process!
• Rinse the dried fruit and add it to a large serving bowl.
• Add the nuts to the bowl and stir to combine.
• Add the rose water or vanilla and water and stir to combine.
• Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 3 days, stirring once a day.
• Serve and enjoy!

Serving suggestions

Serve haft mewa in the serving bowl that it marinated in along with the remaining syrup.

Add a ladle to the bowl so that people can dish up some of the syrup along with the fruit and nuts.

I serve this alongside sweet potato bolani and cucumber mint doogh.

This recipe is a true celebration of spring, so preparing it around the spring equinox (March 21st) is tradition. But feel free to make it whenever you'd like! I recommend reading about Nowruz to get more acquainted with the dish while you are preparing and enjoying it.

Recipe tips and substitutions

• If you can't find specific dried fruits, feel free to swap for other dried fruits of your choice. Try red raisins if that all you can find. Use what you can find!
• The same goes for the nuts. If you don't like one of the nuts, swap it out for your favorite!
• Try to find pre-peeled nuts. Peeling the nuts, especially the walnuts, is very time consuming.
• If you can't find rosewater go ahead and use pure vanilla extract. Or just leave it out and use water.

Storing

You'll want to keep the haft mewa in the refrigerator to keep it from spoiling. Keep it refrigerated not only while the fruits and nuts are marinating, but also any leftovers after serving.

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Recipe

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