New Year basbosa

I sometimes wonder if the New Year is really a fresh start, a universal turning of the page … or just a continuation of the old? 

I don’t really know how I feel about the latest arrival of this date-defining phase. If anything 2012 has left me a little worn out. 

Cake fail ... oops!

Here in Sudan, the changing of the calenders passed almost imperceptibly … like most days here, there’s a sameness (but that’s not to say boring, far from it in fact).

It's just that the days seem to coalesce in a seamless tract of time, that somehow feels as though no time passed at all.

Last year I remember toasting New Year with champagne amidst the wintry beauty of Slovenia’s pocket sized capital Llubljana, it’s streets a bathed in a klaiedescope of colourful light. 

But, that was another time and another world away. 

Actually, the same thing can be said about life in Sudan: otherworldly.

That is what I feel; the absence of the outside. It forces you to live in the present, to take notice of the details; to be aware of all that is around you. 

This New Year I spent the hours before midnight making basbosa with my friend and her family. 

Basboa is a Sudanese sweet, in-between a cake and a biscuit, covered in a liquid sugary coating.

A flurry of activity ensued just before midnight as the family placed trays of steaming milky tea, soft drinks, along with plates of basbosa and sweet pastries. 

I wondered if I was going to start the New Year a diabetic.

The ladies hurriedly fixed their hair and applied makeup even though we were just five, most of whom were their close relatives. 

Tea and sweets: Happy New Year!

In a darkened room lit only by the glow of the candles’ flame, the countdown began … talata, itnein, wahid...

Following there was some sedate congratulations and my friend's ever smiling younger sisters snapped open-mouthed paparazzi-style group photos as everyone got stuck into the spread. 

I sat on the bed and listened to the happy chatter of this family who have accepted me into their home and heart … the room was filled with the warmth of their company.

We ate basbosa until we couldn’t move.

A little over and hour and the tables and food were packed away and everyone prepared for bed.

The year that bought me to Sudan was over … and so another one begins.

*Happy New Year to those who stop by from time to time to read about my ramblings and thoughts on life in Sudan. May your 2013 be filled with happiness and moments as sweet as Sudanese basbosa. 

How to make basbosa 

 1 x cup milk

2 x cups semolina flour

1 x cup plain flour

2 x eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tblsp baking powder

1 tblsp bicarbonate soda

1 x cup sugar 

1 x cup oil

pinch of salt

For sugar coating

3 x cups water

2 x cups of sugar

2 x limes

Blend or mix eggs, sugar, oil, milk until they have a smooth, creamy consistency.

Mix semolina, plain flour, vanilla, bicarb and baking powder together separetely. Add salt.

Combine mixtures and stir well.

Pour mixture into a flat baking tray and cook in oven for 10-20mins. Check regularly.

While basbosa is cooking heat three cups of water. Add sugar and juice from two lemons.

Remove basbosa from oven and allow to cool before spreading sugar coating mix on top.

The finished product