Sweet Beginnings For The New Year

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For Bukharian families, Rosh Hashanah is a time to gather, reflect, and welcome sweetness into the year ahead. At the festive table, each dish carries meaning — golden rice with carrots and honey for prosperity, flaky pastries filled with apples for renewal, tender meatballs enriched with dried fruits for abundance, and jewel-toned pears poached in pomegranate for blessing and beauty. These recipes blend the warmth of Bukharian kitchens with the timeless hopes of the New Year, ensuring that every bite is both tradition and promise.

From the golden glow of Oshi Halvo to the jewel-red beauty of Sheftali-e Anar, these dishes invite sweetness, abundance, and renewal to the New Year table. Each recipe carries the spirit of Bukharian tradition — simple ingredients elevated into symbols of hope, faith, and blessing. May your year ahead be as rich and vibrant as the flavors of Bukhara.

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Oshi Halvo (Sweet Carrot Rice)

DALL·E 2025-09-17 02.27.07 - Authentic Bukharian Oshi Halvo (sweet carrot rice). Close-up of long-grain basmati rice tinted golden with saffron, with finely grated carrots cooked .webp

Golden basmati rice tinted with saffron, enriched with soft carrots and plump raisins — symbolizing prosperity and sweetness.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups basmati rice
• 2 carrots, finely grated
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp oil
• Pinch of saffron or turmeric
• Salt to taste

Instructions:

Sauté carrots in oil until softened; add saffron or turmeric.

Stir in rice, raisins, honey, and salt. Add water and cook until rice is fluffy.

Serve warm as a festive side.

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Bichak-e Tufah (Apple Turnovers)

DALL·E 2025-09-17 00.18.05 - Close-up of Bichak-e Tufah, Bukharian apple turnovers for Rosh Hashanah. Golden, flaky crescent-shaped pastries are shown, with one broken open to rev.webp

Flaky hand pies filled with spiced apples and honey — a Bukharian nod to the apple-and-honey tradition.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup oil or margarine
• 1/2 cup water
• Pinch salt

Filling:

• 3 apples, finely diced
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp honey

Instructions:

Prepare dough, let rest.

Mix filling ingredients.

Roll dough, cut circles, fill with apple mixture, and fold into crescents.

Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes until golden.

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Kavok (Sweet-and-Sour Meatballs)

DALL·E 2025-09-17 01.08.23 - Authentic Bukharian Kavok (sweet-and-sour meatballs). Close-up of small, browned lamb meatballs with a coarse, ground-meat texture. The meatballs are .webp

Juicy lamb or beef meatballs simmered in a rich sauce of onions, apricots, and prunes — a dish of abundance.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef or lamb
• 1 onion, grated
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• Salt, pepper, cumin

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/2 cup prunes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp honey
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups water

Instructions:

Mix meatball ingredients, form small balls. Brown lightly, then simmer in sauce ingredients until thick and rich. Serve hot, with dried fruit nestled in the sauce.

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Sheftali-e Anar (Pomegranate Poached Pears)

DALL·E 2025-09-17 01.08.17 - Authentic Bukharian Sheftali-e Anar (pomegranate-poached pears). Close-up of whole peeled pears gently poached, soft with a natural matte finish, sitt.webp

Elegant pears poached in ruby-red pomegranate juice, served with a scattering of jewel-like arils — a symbol of blessing and beauty.

Ingredients:

• 4 firm pears, peeled
• 2 cups pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup sugar or honey
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Seeds from 1 fresh pomegranate

Instructions:

Simmer pears in juice, sugar, and cinnamon until tender and ruby-stained.

Cool slightly, serve with syrup spooned over and sprinkled with arils.