What it means
نعنا (na’nâ) means mint. The word came into Persian from Arabic نَعْنَاع (na’nâ’), which was itself borrowed from Hurrian, an ancient language of the Near East, related forms of which also appear in Aramaic and Armenian. The full Arabic form نَعْنَاع is sometimes written in Persian too, but in everyday speech Iranians typically use the shortened نعنا (na’nâ). A related compound is نعنا خشک (na’nâ-ye khoshk), dried mint, which has a slightly different use in cooking than the fresh herb. Fresh mint is called نعنا تازه (na’nâ-ye tâze).
How to use it
- یه دسته نعنا تازه بگیر. (ye daste na’nâ tâze begir.) “Get a bunch of fresh mint.”
- نعنا خشک رو رو آش بریز. (na’nâ khoshk ro ru-ye âsh beriz.) “Sprinkle the dried mint over the soup.”
- چای با نعنا دوست دارم. (chây bâ na’nâ dust dâram.) “I like tea with mint.”
- بوی نعنا حالم رو جا میاره. (bu-ye na’nâ hâlam ro jâ miyâre.) “The smell of mint revives me.”
Cultural note
نعنا appears in an enormous range of Iranian dishes: fried dried mint (na’nâ dâgh) is drizzled over ash reshteh and mast-o-khiar, fresh mint is served as part of the herb plate (sabzi khordan) at every traditional meal, and mint tea is a common remedy for stomach ache. It is also one of the herbs laid out for Nowruz. Dried mint is sauteed in butter or oil until fragrant and then added to yogurt dishes, giving them a signature aroma that is one of the most recognisable smells in an Iranian kitchen.