Eritrean Cuisine Codexery

Ful medames

A hearty stew of fava beans, a staple of Egyptian cuisine.

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Cooked fava beans, combined with olive oil and cumin, along with optional additions like parsley, garlic, onion, lemon juice, chili pepper, and other herbs and spices, form the stew known as ful medames.[1] A large metal jug is the traditional vessel for both cooking and serving this dish.[1][2] Egypt considers ful medames a national dish, and it serves as a dietary staple there.[1]

Ful Medames
Ful Medames. Image: Miansari66 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Key facts and history

Remnants of Ful Medames were uncovered in a number of 12th Dynasty (1991-1786 B.C.) Pharonic tombs in Egypt.[2] In the Middle Ages, the making of fūl in Cairo was monopolized by the people living around the Princess Baths.[3] In 1860, Orientalist Edward William Lane described beans being cooked in a pear-shaped earthenware buried in hot ashes.[4] Ful medames was exported from Egypt to other parts of the Arab world, as well as parts of Africa and Asia.[5]

Ful medames
Ful medames. Image: Zachbe at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

According to some authors, the origins of ful medames may extend back to the era of Ancient Egypt.[6] At a late Neolithic site located on the edge of Nazareth, archaeologists discovered a stash of 2,600 dried fava beans.[7] To provide breakfast for everyone in Cairo, enormous qidras were loaded with fava beans and left to simmer through the entire night.[3]

Ful medames (arabic meal)
Ful medames (arabic meal). Image: Abdullah Geelah · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

What the cited sources add

The Migrationology blog notes that Ful Medames is a nutritious Egyptian staple made primarily of mashed fava beans.[2] The same source describes little restaurant shops all over Cairo set up as cheap fueling stations for the dish.[2] Zena's recipe blog states that the Syrian style of ful medames is a bean salad with fresh tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, and sometimes tahini.[8] Zena also mentions that on special occasions her family serves ful medames alongside hummus, fresh veggies, zaatar, and halawa.[8]

Ful medames salad
Ful medames salad. Image: Canbel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Brehaut's article quotes Sami Tamimi saying that ful medames is a staple in Palestinian homes.[9]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Ful medames" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Brehaut, "Cook this: Ful medames from Falastin", National Post, 10 July 2020; "Ful Medames - Egyptian Staple Beans of Delight", Migrationology - Food Travel Blog, 2011-09-30; "Ful Medames - Egyptian Staple Beans of Delight", Migrationology - Food Travel Blog, 2011-09-30 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Ful Medames - Egyptian Staple Beans of Delight", Migrationology - Food Travel Blog, 2011-09-30. facts only, no text reused. migrationology.com
  3. Wikipedia, "Ful medames" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Professor Janet Abu-Lughod - Princeton University Press" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Ful medames" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davidson, "The Oxford Companion to Food", Oxford University Press, 2014, p. 295 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Ful medames" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: James C. McCann, Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine, (Ohio University Press: 2009), p.99. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Ful medames" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Albala, "Beans: A History", September 2007 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Ful medames" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Marks, "Encyclopedia of Jewish Food", Wiley, November 17, 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Zena, "Ful Medames, Syrian Style (Arabic Bean Salad) [Vegan, GF] - Zena 'n Zaatar", Zena 'n Zaatar, 2017-01-26. facts only, no text reused. zenanzaatar.com
  9. Brehaut, "Cook this: Ful medames from Falastin", National Post, 10 July 2020. facts only, no text reused. nationalpost.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ful medames (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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