Sudan: Ful Medames

Name: Sudan: Ful Medames
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Sudan
Ingredients: fava beans: 3 x 14 oz cans; olive oil: 3 Tbsp; yellow onion: 1 large; garlic: 6 cloves; cumin: 2 tsp; smoked paprika: 2 tsp; lemon juice: from 2 lemons; vegetable stock: 1/2 cup; Tomatoes: 2 medium; boiled eggs: 4; parsley: 1/4 cup; salt and pepper: to taste

Cuisine:

Sudan

Ingredients

3 x 14 oz cans fava beans
drained and rinsed
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 large yellow onion
6 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
from 2 lemons lemon juice
1/2 cup vegetable stock
+ more as needed
2 medium Tomatoes
diced
4 boiled eggs
quartered
1/4 cup parsley
chopped
to taste salt and pepper

Directions

Ful Medames (pronounced fool mu-dah-mahs, and sometimes simply called “ful”) is a delicious and very colorful fava bean dish, typically eaten for breakfast. However, fava beans – one of the oldest domesticated legumes – are full of protein and fiber, making this dish a filling option for any meal. In fact, ful medames is often eaten during Ramadan before sunrise to prepare for fasting during the daylight hours. I served this dish with pita to be eaten as a dip during our appetizer course, but could very happily eat this as a min course!

This recipe may have actually originated in Egypt, but is said to be the national dish of Sudan. Cuisine varies much by region, but vegetarian dishes are common, as animals are too valuable to be killed and eaten except for very special occasions. The nomads in the northern deserts live mainly on milk and dairy products from camels and goats, although desert animals such as rabbits and antelope are occasionally added to the diet. As far as beverages go, tea is very common. Islamic law forbids alcoholic beverages everywhere in Sudan, although southerners customarily drink a beer called marisa made from sorghum. Perhaps I’ll ask Courtney to test it out in one of our three empty kegs!

Recipe Source: Simply Fresh Dinners

Steps

1 Done	Drain and rinse fava beans. Mash ½ of the beans with a fork.
2 Done	Heat olive oil in medium sized skillet on medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened, approximately 5 minutes.
3 Done	Add beans, cumin, paprika, lemon and salt, mixing well and cook for 5 minutes on medium. Add the vegetable broth slowly until reaching the desired consistency - you may want to use less or more.
4 Done	Serve topped with chopped tomatoes, parsley and quartered boiled eggs and a side of pita.