It is Noboborsho – Bengali New Year’s Day today. Things are pretty bland here. It is a working day and I did not even feel like taking the day off because no plans will work out due to the COVID-19 situation. All day long it was work and workshops and calls and in the evening I realized that I needed a little pick-me-up. Peeking inside the fridge, I saw that the regular fare is all sitting there cooked and ready but there is nothing different or special for Noboborsho.
Wracking my brains, I looked around the kitchen to see what I could whip up in a short while. And of course I managed to find some things – some leftover noodle packets, a few strips of bacon in the fridge, a cheese cube (I did not dare to check the expiry date for this one) and I realized I could make one of the easiest but most delicious pasta dishes – spaghetti carbonara. I love pasta – especially the creamy ones, and carbonara is one of the first pastas I learned to make. I still remember picking up the recipe from Telegraph Graphiti magazine many years back and trying it out. Today, I selected the recipe from BBC Good Food and started off. Here is the result:
Any full-blooded Bengali knows that a special meal is incomplete without dessert. Ideally, if the older generation was consulted, they would suggest payesh or Sandesh or any other traditional Bengali sweet. I decided to bake instead – and a lovely, fluffy chocolate cake would be just the thing. It turned out so good, that I could not resist eating a piece before I clicked the photo.
There are no frills about this cake – it is just a simple chocolate sponge cake that you can enjoy with tea, coffee, or after a meal.
Just hoping that the husband likes the two things I cooked! Happy Bengal New Year to you all!