Sudanese Fava Beans (Ful)

29 Apr

Written By Akech

Sudanese ful is a fava beans recipe which is considered a national Sudanese dish. This dish is said to have originated from Egypt. Growing up, we called it Ful Masir or ful Masri which loosely translates to Egyptian broad beans or Egyptian beans. Depending on location, it’s also known as ful medames (pronounced as full mu-da-mas).

Ful is satisfying. It is mainly served for breakfast; though it can also be served as lunch. This is a canned fava beans recipe, however, fava beans can also be cooked from scratch. Cooking the beans from scratch is time consuming but it is worth it because it tastes much better.

*Sudanese Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans) served with chilli and Lebanese bread*

Ingredients for Sudanese Fava Beans (Ful)

Fava beans - I am using canned fava beans for this recipe but you can cook dry fava beans from scratch. It is a time consuming process but the results are better.
Cooking oil - I am use canola oil. Some recipes use sesame oil, others vegetable or olive so use what works for you. This is used for cooking and also drizzles at the end once the ful is plated.
Spices and seasoning - I use cumin powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. I use minimal spices when preparing legumes and beans to maintain their flavour, however, this is a matter of preference so feel free to adjust this to your liking.
Hard boiled eggs - These are used for both flavour and garnish. Boil these before cooking so that they are ready for plating as soon as the fava beans are cooked.
Onions (brown and red) - brown for cooking, and red is diced and reserved and served raw when plating. It boosts the flavour of the ful and acts as a garnish.
Tomatoes - diced and added raw to the cooked ful. As with the red onion, acts the tomato serves as both a flavour booster and garnish.
Feta cheese - The feta cheese is crumbled and added to the fava. It adds flavour to the dish and ties together all the flavours. The feta cheese is salty and slightly acidic with a refreshing taste. The red onions have a sweet and mild taste; the tomatoes sweet, acidic and tangy; the boiled eggs creamy and bland. Mixing all these topped with a drizzle of oil is soo good, I lack the words to express the burst of flavours when all these are tie together.
Chilli (optional) - Garnish with chilli or serve with the ful if you love heat in your food.
Lemon (optional) - Some people squeeze lemon juice in the ful while cooking and others add it after it is plated. I skipped this but you can add it if preferred.
Rocket leaves (optional) - Some people like adding a handful of chopped rocket leaves into the ful with the rest of the vegetables, however, it’s optional.

Instructions

Prepare the Ingredients

Boil the eggs beforehand to make things quicker; and shell the eggs and set them aside ready for serving.
Rinse and drain the fava beans so that you can flavour them to your liking. Some cans come pre-seasoned, so I rinse and drain them because I prefer seasoning it myself.
Prepare the rest of the ingredients- chop the vegetables (onions and tomatoes) and measure the rest of the ingredients or have them all within reach for quick access.

**Four seasons pepper**

I used the mixed peppers shown here, because I ran out of black pepper.

2. Cooking the Ful

I heat some cooking oil, add the brown onions and sauté them until translucent.
I am using 2 types of onions. Brown onion for cooking and red onion for garnish and serving.

I add the ful (fava beans) and a cup of water.

I add cumin powder, salt, mixed peppers and mix it all to combine.

Then, I cook this covered for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, the water is reduced.

I mash the fava beans to your preferred consistency.

I leave some of the beans whole as shown below, but feel free to adjust its texture to your liking.
I like my ful with a little texture so I do not mash it into a puree.

3. Bringing it all Together

It is now time to bring it all together. Dice the red onion & tomatoes.
Gather all that’s needed (bread, boiled eggs, feta cheese, oil, bowl & spoon).

*Ingredients ready to start plating the ful*

In a bowl, I add the fava beans, feta cheese, boiled eggs (chopped) and half of the vegetables (red onions and tomatoes).

I mix to combine and add oil.

Skip the oil for a healthier option or adjust it to your liking.

I garnish the ful with the remaining red onions, tomatoes, feta cheese and boiled eggs (chopped or cut into wedges); and finish it off with a drizzle of oil.

Traditionally, it is topped with sesame oil, however, I use whichever oil I cook it with (mostly canola or vegetable).
The ful is now ready to serve with your preferred staple.

4. Serving the Ful

Ful is best served with bread rolls or kisra (South Sudanese/Sudanese fermented flat bread).
I love mine with bread rolls and Turkish or Lebanese breads; and injera (Ethiopian fermented flat bread).
I also use this as a filling for sandwiches, wraps or rolls. It makes the perfect school or work lunch.

*Ful served with a bread roll and an egg (boiled)*

Video: Sudanese Ful (Sudanese Fava Beans)

Storing the Ful

Storage - Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat - Reheat in a microwave or in a pot on the stovetop.

Notes

This is a canned fava beans recipe, but you can also cook the fava beans from scratch if time allows. For dry fava beans, soak the beans overnight and use a pressure cooker to help reduce the cooking time, otherwise cooking ful in a regular pot could be a whole day engagement.
If you do not have a pressure cooker, try using a cast iron pot or any other heavy pot that has great heat retention.

Have you tried this recipe and love it? Share it with your friends!

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Akech

Sudanese Fava Beans (Ful)

Ingredients for Sudanese Fava Beans (Ful)

Instructions