Ful medames

Ingredients

Beans

• 400 gsmall dried brown fava beans (ful hamam)
• 2 litreswater
• 1 tspbicarbonate of soda, optional, for hard water
• 1 tspsalt, added at the end

To dress the pot

• 60 mlsesame oil (sil sil), the Sudanese finish
• 3 tbsptahini, loosened with 3 tbsp water
• 2garlic cloves, crushed with salt
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tspground cumin

Toppings, all at once

• 150 gjibna beida, Sudanese white brined cheese, crumbled
• 4eggs, hard-boiled and quartered
• 2tomatoes, diced
• 1small onion, finely chopped
• 20 grocket or watercress
• 2 tbspshatta, hot chilli paste
• 60 mlolive oil, poured over

To serve

• Kisra or Sudanese round bread, torn

Directions

1. Soak the beans in plenty of cold water for at least 12 hours; they will double and the skins will loosen slightly.
2. Drain, cover with fresh water by 5 cm, bring to the boil and skim the grey foam off the top.
3. Simmer very gently, covered, for 4 to 6 hours, topping up with boiling water so the beans are always just covered. Traditionally this is done overnight in a damma, a narrow-necked copper or clay pot, which holds a steady low heat.
4. The beans are ready when they crush to a paste between finger and thumb with no chalky centre. Only now add the salt; salting early keeps the skins tough.
5. Ladle the beans with a little of their cooking liquor into a wide shallow bowl and mash roughly with the back of a wooden spoon or a bean masher, leaving a third of them whole for texture.
6. Beat in the tahini loosened with water, the garlic, lemon juice and cumin, and slacken with more cooking liquor until it is spoonable, not stiff.
7. Pour the sesame oil over the surface in a spiral; this is the smell people recognise as a Sudanese ful house.
8. Scatter the cheese, eggs, tomato, onion and rocket over the top in bands, spoon shatta into the middle, finish with olive oil and take the whole bowl to the table for everyone to eat from with torn bread.

Technique

• Sudanese ful is distinguished from the Egyptian version by two things: the flood of sesame oil and the crumbled white cheese on top. Neither is optional in a Khartoum ful shop.
• Do not salt or acidify the beans until they are fully soft. Salt, lemon and tomato all set the skins and can add hours to the cooking.
• The pot is communal. Ful is scooped with bread from a shared dish, and the bowl is deliberately made too big for one person.

Substitutions

• Tinned fava beans are what most home cooks abroad use: drain 2 x 400 g tins, simmer 15 minutes in fresh water with a little of the tin liquor, then dress exactly as above.
• No jibna beida: feta rinsed of its brine is the closest widely available cheese.
• Groundnut oil can stand in for sesame oil, but the aroma is much flatter.

Variations

• Ful bil jibna, extra heavy on cheese, the standard breakfast order.
• Ful with tamiya, the Sudanese falafel, crumbled over the top.
• Ful masri, plainer, dressed with olive oil, lemon and cumin alone.

History

Arrived with Yemeni and Egyptian traders and became Djibouti’s standard morning plate in city cafés.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ful medames?

Ful medames is a breakfast from Djibouti: stewed fava beans mashed with oil, cumin and chilli, scooped with bread. Arrived with Yemeni and Egyptian traders and became Djibouti’s standard morning plate in city cafés.

How long does Ful medames take to make?

Ful medames takes 15 min of preparation and Overnight soak plus 4 hr simmer of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ful medames?

Yes, within limits. Tinned fava beans are what most home cooks abroad use: drain 2 x 400 g tins, simmer 15 minutes in fresh water with a little of the tin liquor, then dress exactly as above. No jibna beida: feta rinsed of its brine is the closest widely available cheese. Groundnut oil can stand in for sesame oil, but the aroma is much flatter.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ful medames?

Scatter the cheese, eggs, tomato, onion and rocket over the top in bands, spoon shatta into the middle, finish with olive oil and take the whole bowl to the table for everyone to eat from with torn bread.