Sudanese Ful Medames
A crowd-pleasing vegan built around dried fava beans and ground coriander β roughly 65 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for large pot and saucepan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (2)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Rinse the dried fava beans, cover them generously with cold water and soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours, then drain.
- Put the soaked beans in a large pot with the 6 cups of fresh water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer partly covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the beans are very soft, topping up with hot water if the level drops too low.
- Crush the garlic to a paste with a pinch of salt and stir it into the pot along with the ground cumin and ground coriander during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Using a fork or potato masher, coarsely mash about half of the beans against the side of the pot so the dish thickens but still has plenty of whole beans and a loose, soupy consistency.
- Season with salt to taste and stir in most of the lemon juice, tasting and adjusting the cumin and lemon until it is bright and savory.
- Spoon the warm ful into bowls, make a well in the center of each and pour the olive oil over the top, finishing with the remaining lemon juice.
- Serve immediately with warm flatbread for scooping, and offer extra olive oil and cumin at the table.
You'll use: Large pot Β· Saucepan
Ingredient substitutions
- Lemon
- lime Β· 1 tbsp white wine vinegar per lemon
Tips & common questions
How long does Sudanese Ful Medames take to make?
About 65 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 8 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of lemon?
Try lime. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Sudanese Ful Medames vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
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Sudanese Ful Medames is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: ΩΩΩ Ω Ψ―Ω Ψ³ Ψ³ΩΨ―Ψ§ΩΩ.jpg (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.