When you travel to Egypt you will have the opportunity to visit pyramids, temples and museums, visit bazaars, sail the Nile, swim in the beaches of the Red Sea… But undoubtedly, another great attraction is to taste the local cuisine, which has the most delicious proposals. For this reason, in this post we explain what is the ful medames and what’s in it, so you can see if you’ll want to try it when you’re here.
What is the ful medames
Ful medames is one of Egypt’s ‘national’ dishes. It is prepared and tasted practically all over the country, although its origin is not known for sure. In fact, its very name combines two traditions: g
Most believe that this refers to its traditional method of preparation, in which the copper pot used for cooking is buried in the embers of a bonfire, a method widely used in Middle Eastern cuisine. However, it does not resolve the doubt about the origin, since it is also eaten in other African countries, especially in the Horn of Africa, as well as in other countries of the Arab world.
It should be noted that it is a very consistent dish, as explained below, and therefore it is usually eaten as lunch, and also energy and restorative food during Ramadan.
What’s in the ful medames
By now, you probably know what the main ingredient of the ful medamesis: broad beans (
ful
). They are usually soaked the night before and cooked in the aforementioned copper pot for an hour or less, so that their consistency is soft and smooth, but without breaking.
Once cooked and drained (some people grind the beans to make it like a cream), mix them with the other ingredients, as a salad. And it is the choice of ingredients and seasoning that gives the distinctive touch to each preparation. These ingredients are usually chopped parsley, onion, tomato, crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, pepper and salt. And as an accompaniment, without mixing with those ingredients, a boiled egg and eish shamsia bread similar to pita bread, widely used in Egyptian gastronomy. You can also add a piece of lemon to accompany, decorate or give the possibility of adding an extra lemon juice to the dressing.
As you can see, it is an easy-to-make dish that has the capacity to satiate those who eat it. Therefore, it can be an interesting option for lunches on your trip, since in our tours we usually choose local restaurants for the midday meal.
So don’t miss this opportunity to try a good ful medames on your next trip to Egypt, which will give you energy for a day full of visits and will serve as a cultural experience… that you will want to repeat at home on your return!
