Ful Medammes: Stewed Egyptian Fava Beans

Ful Medammes with Poached Egg and Home Made Bread

Ful Medammes/Mudammas/Medames: Stewed Fava Beans

I first discovered this dish in a Yemeni restaurant in Manchester’s famous ‘Curry Mile‘, one of my favourite places to go for a delicious meal out when cooking is too much like hard work! I’ve since eaten it on holiday in Egypt, it was so delicious that I had it for breakfast every day!

According to Wikipedia Ful Medammes is: ‘an Egyptian/Sudanese dish of cooked and mashed fava beans served with vegetable oil, cumin and optionally with chopped parsley,onion, garlic, and lemon juice. A staple meal in Egypt and Sudan, it is popular in the cuisines of the Levant, Somalia, Djibouti,Eritrea, Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia’.

Today I made a second attempt at a ‘no knead bread’ recipe and made some Ful Medammes and poached egg to go with it.

Ful Medammes with Poached Egg

Ingredients:

• I can of Ful Medames Beans
• 1 tbs tomato puree (use a couple of fresh tomatoes if you have them)
• 1tsp ground cumin
• half onion, finely chopped
• clove of garlic, finely chopped
• salt to taste
• 1tbs olive oil

Method:

• Saute onions and garlic with the oil in a small saucepan
• Add ground cumin, salt, and tomato puree/tomatoes, cooking for a few minutes to form a paste
• Add the tinned fava beans and a splash of water. Stew on a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Add water if it starts to stick.
• At  this point it’s cooked. The beans can be served whole or mashed into a smooth paste. (I like mine mashed!) Add chopped fresh parsley, if you have it, to add some freshness!
• Serve hot with boiled/poached/fried eggs and toasted bread.

Ful Medammes and Poached Egg

This dish is almost like a middle-eastern version of eggs and baked beans! There is loads of flavour and left overs can be served cold as a dip with vegetables and flat bread (like a hummus!). It’s a perfect make-ahead dinner party starter as spice can be added to suit individual tastes.

Ful Medammes