Easy Breakfast Ful Medames (with a Punjabi twist)
Wanting a protein-packed, tasty, spicy, breakfast you can make ahead? Try our easy breakfast ful medames with a Punjabi twist!
Naturally vegan, totally delicious, easy breakfast ful medames
If you’ve had a stay in Egypt (or even other areas of the Middle East) if you didn’t get to sample the staple dish of ful medames, usually offered for breakfast, I bet you would have at least seen it on a menu. And, if you’re planning a holiday to the region, put it on the list of things to do: “Must try ful medames for breakfast”. Or, simply try our easy breakfast ful medames recipe in your very own kitchen.
To be honest, as with most dishes, ful medames is made in so many different ways, and with different ingredients depending on who makes it and in which region you eat it, that it’s worth trying a few different versions to find your favourite. But it you’re a fan of spicy food, this one might just be in there…
What is ful medames?
Spelt in various ways including; ful, foul or fuul, ful medames translates to “fava bean stew”. A rich, yummy stew, that is super budget-friendly and has been made for centuries across the Middle East. Some say this humble dish dates back to the Ancient Egyptians.
Usually served as a breakfast item, alongside falafel, eggs and white cheese in Egypt, ful medames is a dish of fava beans stewed and then finished with a very generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It’s mopped up with stacks of freshly baked flatbread and really is an all-day breakfast in bowl!
Sounds too simple? It is, but it is absolutely delicious and the thought of digging into a bowl of ful medames often is the driver for jumping out of bed during my stays in Egypt.
I have to say that Egypt is very vegan friendly as a hot breakfast of ful and falafel isn’t difficult to find. For lunch and dinner, there are countless meat-free moussaka, lentil and vegetable bakes, plus tagine and curry type dishes to choose from. So, plenty of naturally vegan food – but be sure to tell waiters that you’re vegan to make sure a knob of butter isn’t slipped in here or there….
Anyway, back to breakfast… Ful medames is healthy, filling and easy to make. If you haven’t encountered fava beans, then you should definitely give them a try. They’re meaty, substantial and really easy to turn into a tasty meal. They go perfectly with crispy Middle Eastern falafel.
To mash or not to mash the fava beans?
Whenever I’ve eaten ful in Egypt, this element has been varied. Sometimes the beans are intact, other times they are partially mashed but I’ve never seen them fully mashed into a hummus like texture; although I know that in some areas of the Middle East, they do this. It really just depends on where you eat them and your personal preference if you’re making them at home.
As I use canned fava beans to make ful medames, a few tend to soften and mash themselves in the cooking process. And, I like having some chunky, creamy beans to bite into.
Canned or dried fava beans?
Like most beans, you can buy fava beans in cans or in dried form. As the dried form can take quite a long time to cook (they are big, chunky, beans and remember that dried beans must be cooked properly), I tend to stick to the canned version. This means I can put together a tasty panful of ful medames in under an hour.
However, you can totally use dried beans and if you are, give them a good wash and then soak them in water overnight. The next day, you’ll need to boil them until the beans are soft. This takes at least an hour (perhaps a lot longer!). If you own a pressure cooker, now’s the time to get it out. Cooking your dried fava beans will be a lot, lot, lot easier and speedier in a pressure cooker.
A spicy twist!
Now, with a palette for Punjabi food, I can’t help but add some extra spices when I make ful medames. But, if you’re not big on spices, or want a more traditional dish of ful medames, then you can omit the spices and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Do season it well though and perhaps add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Recipe highlights
- Perfect to make ahead for work at home days, weekends and holidays. Simply reheat in minutes and warm your favourite bread
- A healthy, nutritious, filling breakfast
- Fava beans contain a decent amount of fibre and protein
- No plant-based alternatives required – it all happens to be vegan!
- Pile onto your toast for a spicy “beans on toast” (btw, have you tried our even quicker Punjabi curried bakes beans on toast?)
- Gluten free (mop up with gluten free bread)
- This recipe will give you six good-sized portions
- Stored in an airtight container, it will keep well in the fridge for three days and the flavour just improves!
Ingredients you’ll need to make our easy breakfast ful medames
Olive oil – we usually use olive oil for cooking here and extra virgin olive oil for drizzling but that’s optional. If you don’t have olive oil for cooking, simply use sunflower or vegetable oil instead. Whatever you have.
Canned fava beans – ready cooked canned fava beans are cheap and easy to find in independent international food stores. Some mainstream supermarkets stock them periodically but it’s very hit and miss.
High in fibre and protein and naturally low in fat, fava beans are filling, nutritious and delicious!
Now, sometimes, the cans will say “ready to eat” because they are already prepared in some sort of sauce. This isn’t what you want. You want the plain beans you can flavour yourself.
Onion – the onions add to the flavour and help create a lovely, tasty sauce for your beans. Red, white, brown or pink onions will work. Use whatever you have.
Garlic – I know I go on about this, but please use fresh garlic. You really can’t beat the taste of freshly crushed (or finely grated) garlic.
Fresh tomatoes – fresh tomatoes help create a lovely base and sauce for your ful medames. Buy the best tomatoes you can afford. If you’d like to learn how to preserve fresh tomatoes, here’s a link to that post. Then you’ll have access to delicious, fresh tomatoes whenever you need them!
Tomato puree – this isn’t a traditional ful medames ingredient, but I find it helps to add some richness to the sauce. Just the everyday tubes of tomatoes puree are needed; they’re super easy to find.
Spices – once the tomatoes have been added, we tip in the garam masala, cumin, chilli flakes, cinnamon and black pepper. Again, not all of these spices are traditionally used. Adjust the spice to your personal liking and if you’d rather have a more traditional tasting ful medames dish, skip the garam masala, cinnamon, black pepper and perhaps even the chilli flakes.
Extra virgin olive oil – in Egypt, ful medames are served with (quite a big!) drizzle of olive oil. My drizzle is much, much smaller and although it is delicious, sometimes I do leave it out as I personally find it a little too heavy for breakfast.
Fresh herbs – a sprinkling of fresh herbs finishes the dish nicely. While parsley is more commonly used, I prefer a dash of fresh dill. Use whichever you prefer or even coriander.
I know what you’re thinking…. Onions, garlic and spices for breakfast… Okay, you may not want to eat this before you join a face-face, in the office, team huddle, but trust me, for work at home days, holidays and weekends, this makes a lovely, lovely breakfast that will keep you going for hours!
Ingredient quantities to make your easy breakfast ful medames
5 tablespoons cooking olive oil
3 x 400g tins fava beans drained
200g finely diced onion (about two medium onions)
4 garlic cloves finely grated
2 large fresh tomatoes diced
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 teaspoon chilli flakes or powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
350ml boiled water
Extra virgin olive oil to serve
Handful chopped dill, parsley or coriander to serve
3 chopped sweet red chillies to serve
How to make our easy breakfast ful medames
- You will need a medium pan with a lid to make this recipe.
- Once all your ingredients are on the countertop ready, have your kettle ready, half filled with boiled water.
- Heat the cooking oil a little and then add the finely diced onions and cook them until they become just soft. You don’t need to caramelise them like we do for most curries.
- Add the garlic and cook it for about a minute. Keep moving it around or it will stick.
- Next tip in the fresh tomatoes and the tomato puree. Cook for a few minutes, on a medium heat, until the tomatoes break down and you have what resembles a chunky tomato sauce.
- Tip in all the powdered spices, salt and pepper and cook your sauce for about eight minutes.
- Mix in your fava beans, coating them well with the sauce.
- Let the fava beans pick up the flavours in the pan so you want to move them around every now and then and let them cook for about five minutes.
- Now we need to add some boiling water to the pan and allow everything to simmer. Using the boiled water from your kettle, add 350mls of water to the pan.
- Pop a lid on the pan and cook on a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Check frequently, gently stirring your beans to prevent sticking and aid even cooking. If you do get sticking, add a bit more water from your kettle to loosen things up again.
- You want the beans to breakdown a little so they absorb the flavour and it does take about 30 minutes to get there. To check if you’re there, do a little test by removing a bean from the pan, let it cool a little then give it a little squeeze. It should be soft and creamy with no unflavoured bean taste.
- Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh herbs and sweet red chillies.
Tips for a tasty bowl of spicy ful medames
Do make sure the beans are soft and have absorbed the flavours you have added. Do a taste test and if you get that raw bean taste, be patient and simmer for a little longer. It’s worth the wait!
As I’ve said elsewhere in this post, I’ve added far more spices to this recipe than is the norm. If you want a more traditional dish of ful medames skip the garam masala, cinnamon, black pepper and even the chilli flakes. Do the onions, garlic, tomatoes and other spices as per recipe and when your beans are cooked, use a potato masher to mash them slightly and then give them a good glug of extra virgin olive oil before serving.
How to serve ful medames
My favourite way to eat ful medames is with some thinnish flatbread. The beans alone are very filling so for me, this type of bread is perfect. I also like some wedges of fresh lemon to squeeze into my bowl and while I don’t go heavy on the extra virgin olive oil, you may like to.
Give your bowl a sprinkling of fresh herbs and some chopped sweet chilli if you like.
Traditionally, these would be served with some fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and green leaves as part of a bigger breakfast with falafel, white cheese and eggs. If you’re looking to do a bigger spread for guests, then there are some great plant-based alternatives to these which you can serve up and then let everyone dig in! Yum!
How to store your breakfast ful medames
This dish is great to make a day or two ahead – the flavour will just improve. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Ful medames also freezes really well. So, you could make a double batch, portion in small containers or food bags, freeze them and then just grab the number of portions you need whenever you want.
Easy Breakfast Ful Medames
Equipment
- 1 medium/large lidded pan
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp cooking olive oil
- 3 cans fava beans drained (3 x 400g cans)
- 200g onion finely diced (about 2 medium onions)
- 4 garlic cloves finely grated
- 2 large fresh tomatoes diced
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tsp chilli flakes or powder
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 350ml boiled water
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil to serve – optional
- Handful freshly chopped dill, parsley or coriander to serve – optional
- 3 sweet red chillies finely chopped optional
Instructions
- Heat the cooking oil a little and then add the finely diced onions and cook them until they become just soft. You don’t need to caramelise them like we do for most curries.
- Add the garlic and cook it for about a minute. Keep moving it around or it will stick.
- Next tip in the fresh tomatoes and the tomato puree. Cook for a few minutes, on a medium heat, until the tomatoes break down and you have what resembles a chunky tomato sauce.
- Tip in all the powdered spices, salt and pepper and cook your sauce for about eight minutes.
- Mix in your fava beans, coating them well with the sauce.
- Let the fava beans pick up the flavours in the pan so you want to move them around every now and then and let them cook for about five minutes.
- Now we need to add some boiling water to the pan and allow everything to simmer. Using the boiled water from your kettle, add 350mls of water to the pan.
- Pop a lid on the pan and cook on a medium heat for about 30 minutes. Check frequently, gently stirring your beans to prevent sticking and aid even cooking. If you do get sticking, add a bit more water from your kettle to loosen things up again.
- You want the beans to breakdown a little so they absorb the flavour and it does take about 30 minutes to get there. To check if you’re there, do a little test by removing a bean from the pan, let it cool a little then give it a little squeeze. It should be soft and creamy with no unflavoured bean taste.
- Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh herbs and sweet red chillies.
