Eat like..an Egyptian

This month I have been Globe Trotting not physically but Cuisinewise! Some days ago we were in Thailand, then this week in Orissa.

My kitchen has been witnessing a lot of experiments these days thanks to some challenging events going in the blogosphere. (I have become a slave to these  Blog -events now!)

This time I am traveling all the way to the Middle East to Egypt–All thanks to Glenna of A Fridge Full of Foods. We are in search of ‘Ethnic Dishes’ and she has asked us ‘to make a dish from a culture, country, or ethnicity other than our own’.

So this Columbus/i on her culinary expedition has landed in Egypt– the ancient, mystic land of Pharaohs and Pyramids.

Here I discovered a National favourite –‘Ful Medames’ (Ful –Egyptian word for beans usually fava beans, and medames meaning buried -hinting at the original cooking method, which involved burying a sealed pot of water and beans under hot coals.)

Traditionally this recipe, consists of Fava beans slow-cooked in a copper pot that have been partially or completely mashed.

This is the first time I have ventured into Egyptian cuisine or cuisine of the Middle East for that Matter.

I turned my city upside down in search of Fava Beans – no one even knows what they are! It is something like ‘Wal beans’ we get here, which also I did not get at this time of the year.I  took a printout of some photos of Fava beans so that at least I would find some canned beans in the local Malls. But I couldn’t find them. L  

I had already made up my mind to make  Ful Medames, so I settled for some Red Beans. (I also bought a can of green Lima beans in the bargain, with which I have no clue what to do..maybe I will team it up with some pasta!)

I referred mainly to this recipe and browsed through many other recipes for Ful Medames and ended up making some adjustments to suit our taste and ingredients.

I have twisted the original Ful Madames recipe due to the lack of availability of ingredients –it might not be the same as it is made on the streets of Egypt but the end result was very good

I will repost the recipe once I get hold of Fava Beans!

I made my own Whole wheat Pita Bread, which is normally eaten with Ful Medames (here again I had no choice since Pita bread is not readily available) This recipe I have borrowed from the Masterchefs-Bee and Jai of Jugalbandi . Thank you Master bakers for this wonderful recipe with Wheat flour. 

Thank you Glenna, I gained an insight into various other cuisines while searching for some really traditional breakfast recipes around the world! 

Ful Medames with Pita Bread, eggs, onions and lemon wedges for this month’s WBB # 14 ‘Ethnic dishes with a twist’ hosted by Glenna

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Ful Medames recipe

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 ~ 2 cups Red Beans (actually Fava beans) soaked overnight

1 onion chopped

6-7 pods garlic peeled and crushed

2 tsp cumene powder roasted and crushed

7-8 peppercorns roasted and crushed

2 tsp lemon juice

2-3 tbsp Olive oil

few fresh coriander leaves chopped (you can use mint leaves if you have)

Salt to taste 

For serving:

1 onion sliced

1 egg boiled and sliced

1-2 Limes wedges

Pita Bread  

Cook the beans till they become soft . (They are actually cooked in a pan for~45-50 minutes.) I pressure cooked them for about 30 minutes. 

Sauté the garlic and chopped onion in a little oil for few seconds (this is for people who don’t like raw onion/garlic like me)  

Mash the cooked beans with the back of a wooden spatula.

Add the sautéed onion-garlic.

Add the crushed cumene seeds and crushed peppercorns.

Add the lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Mix nicely.  

Serve on a platter with sliced onion, sliced egg, lime wedges and Pita Bread 

Note: I also added chili flakes and blanched tomatoes to a portion of the above version of Ful Medames. Chili lovers will prefer this version.