If you live in the US or elsewhere and you would like to get a glimpse of the food most popular in Egypt, then open a can of foul mudammas and make yourself a bowl of foul.
Foul mudammas in cans is available at any Middle-Eastern store or even the ethnic section of supermarkets.
Foul is fava beans and is considered the national (street) dish of Egypt. I am not saying that a can is the same experience as eating it in the streets of Cairo, but it will give you an idea.
Foul is pronounced fool.
Foul is beloved in Lebanon as well, however prepared a bit differently with the addition of chick peas in the broth.
This meal is very cheap, very nutritious and very speedy. It also tastes good and is part of the Arab comfort food inventory.
INGREDIENTS: 4 to 6 servings
- 2 cans of foul mudammas
- 4 to 6 cloves of garlic
- 1 large tomato
- olive oil, as needed
- 1 lemon
- 1 jalapeño, diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup of fresh herb (parsley, cilantro or dill)
- 4 to 6 eggs
- pita bread or any flatbread, as needed
METHOD:
- Open the cans and start heating the beans gently; using an immersion blender or a meat mallet, crush the beans a bit to get some of them mashed up.
- Peel the garlic, remove the green germ, chop in little pieces and mash in a mortar with a dash of salt till pasty.
- Peel and chop and seed the tomato and add to the beans. Add the chili if using.
- Juice the lemon and add to the mashed garlic, transfer to the beans and add a few tablespoons of olive oil.
- Add some chopped herbs, and stir the beans to combine all the ingredients. Place the egg one at a time in a small microwavable bowl and add 1/4 cup of water to the egg. Cover and heat for one minute (more or less depending on your oven). The egg will turn opaque. Drain the water and plop the poached egg on the bean mixture. Proceed with the other eggs.
- Serve the foul with pita or flatbread.
NOTE: Traditionally, foul is served with hard-boiled eggs.
16 Comments
I am sure I would love foul too. Comforting and delicious!
A scrumptious dish! I cannot resist anything that is made with beans and eggs.
Cheers,
Rosa
Quite a filling,nutritious and comforting food..
I think I remember Anthony Bourdain eating this on the streets of Cairo
The eggs just pleased me – it is so bright on top of those wonderfully spiced beans. Fava beans are hard to come by right now – but I am wondering – borlotti? Not the same but maybe just as comforting.
Beans. legumes…healthy & good for ya and I’m all for them. These do look like kidney beans ( from a far) and I suppose one could substitute Foul with them.
Ce ragoût de légumes n’ est vraiment pas de nos habitudes et pourtant c’ est bon…
Give me beans and olive oil anytime and I will be happy. Pythagoras was a ‘fool’ by not eating fava bean. I bet if he had the chance to eat your Foul dish he would change his mind about favas in no time!
Thanks for sharing.
Heg
While the name is a bit off-putting when first viewed, the dish looks marvelous. I’d love this with some toasted whole wheat pita!
Reminds me of the Mexican breakfast, refried beans and eggs.
Mimi
je n’ai jamais mangé de foul.
J’échange 2 msemmens contre une assiette de foul.
A très bientôt.
Grew up eating this but never put an egg on top. Brilliant!
Thanks for the heads up on the pronunciation…otherwise, I would have made a ‘fool’ of myself at some point I’m sure. LOL
Comforting meal.
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
How unfortunate that the name for this dish, in english, is what it is, because it looks like a simple plate of perfection to me. A bit like an Egyptian version of huevos rancheros…delicious! – S
I love peasant food like this and only recently heard of this dish. Like the idea of the eggs on it.
I have never tried foul but it looks so delicious…thank you for the introduction