Sudanese Ful Medames (Slow-Stewed Fava Beans with Cumin and Sesame Oil)

About This Recipe

Ful medames is the breakfast of the entire Nile Valley, from Cairo to Khartoum, and Sudan has its own beloved version that diverges importantly from the better-known Egyptian one. Sudanese ful (pronounced 'fool') starts with whole small Sudanese fava beans — drier and rounder than Egyptian ones — slow-simmered overnight in a special tall-necked clay pot called a damasa over very low heat (or in a modern pressure cooker for several hours). The beans come out soft enough to crush against the side of a bowl with the back of a spoon but still holding shape. Each portion is plated and built up at the table: olive or sesame oil is drizzled generously, fresh lemon is squeezed, a clove of mashed garlic is mixed in, cumin and salt are sprinkled, and the dish is topped with crumbled white cheese (jibna baida), chopped tomato, chopped onion, and fresh parsley. Sometimes a boiled or fried egg is added, and a generous spoonful of zigni (Eritrean-style spiced butter) or shatta (chili paste) for heat. Eaten with warm flatbread torn into pieces and used as a scoop, Sudanese ful is the foundation of every Khartoum morning — sustaining, deeply savory, vegetarian, and shareable from a single communal bowl in the center of the table. Coffee or sweet tea, both heavily perfumed with cardamom, complete the meal.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 300 gsmall dried Sudanese fava beans (or Egyptian small fava — not the large fresh kind), picked over and rinsed
• 1.5 Lcold water (plus more as needed)
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tspground cumin (plus more for serving)
• 2 tspkosher salt (plus more to taste)
• 4 clovesgarlic, mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt
• 3 tbspsesame oil or extra-virgin olive oil (Sudanese ful is often dressed with sesame oil)
• 2lemons, halved (one for cooking, one for the table)
• 150 gSudanese jibna baida or feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 mediumripe tomato, diced 5 mm
• 1 smallwhite onion, finely diced
• 1 small bunchflat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 largeeggs, boiled or fried (optional)
• 1 tbspshatta (Sudanese chili paste) or harissa, to serve
• 1 stackwarm Sudanese kissra or pita flatbread, to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the beans overnight

   Place dried fava beans in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 5 cm. Soak overnight (8–12 hours) at room temperature. The beans will swell to nearly double their dry size. Drain and rinse before cooking.

2. 2

   Slow-cook the beans

   Place soaked beans in a heavy pot with 1.5 L cold water, bay leaves and 1 tsp cumin. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, skimming any foam that rises. Reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover loosely, and cook 4–6 hours until the beans are very tender and crush easily between two fingers. Add hot water in small splashes if the beans threaten to dry out.

   Modern shortcut: pressure cook soaked beans with water and bay leaves at high pressure for 35 minutes, then natural release. The result is excellent.

3. 3

   Season the cooking liquid

   Once beans are tender, stir in 2 tsp salt and let dissolve. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon. The beans should be sitting in just enough thick brown liquid to coat them — not soupy, not dry. Adjust water if needed. Discard bay leaves.

4. 4

   Make the garlic-lemon dressing

   In a small bowl, combine the mashed garlic, juice of one lemon, 2 tbsp of the sesame oil, and a pinch of salt and cumin. Whisk to combine — this is the table dressing that finishes each portion.

5. 5

   Crush some of the beans

   Once the beans are seasoned, use the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher to crush about a third of the beans against the side of the pot — this thickens the dish and creates the classic Sudanese ful texture, where some beans are whole and others have collapsed into a savory paste.

6. 6

   Plate generously

   Ladle hot ful into wide shallow bowls (or one large communal bowl for sharing, as is traditional). Drizzle each portion with the garlic-lemon dressing and the remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil. The dish should look glossy and aromatic.

7. 7

   Top with the works

   Scatter each bowl with crumbled white cheese, diced tomato, diced onion and a generous handful of chopped parsley. Add a boiled or fried egg on top if using. Sprinkle with extra cumin and serve with a small ramekin of shatta on the side for heat lovers.

8. 8

   Serve with warm bread

   Bring warm kissra or pita flatbread to the table. Each diner tears off pieces and uses them as scoops to grab beans, cheese, tomato and onion in single bites. Communal eating from a center bowl is the traditional Sudanese way; individual bowls work for everyday meals.

Variations

• •

  Egyptian ful: skip the sesame oil and feta, finish with olive oil, lemon and tahini — the cross-border version.

• •

  Ful bil zeit: with extra olive oil only, no cheese or eggs — the simplest Sunday-morning version.

• •

  Ful akhdar: made with fresh green favas in spring — a seasonal Sudanese specialty.

• •

  Spiced ful: stir in 1 tsp dukkah and a teaspoon of berbere for an Ethiopian-Sudanese fusion version popular in Khartoum cafes.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked beans in their liquid in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Reheat gently with a splash of water, then add fresh toppings just before serving. Freezes well for 3 months. Don't add toppings before storing — assemble fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions