Mohamed Saleh is a 28-year-old student doing a PhD in City Planning at the RUG. This is his second year and he moved to Groningen all the way from Alexandria, Egypt. Although he doesn’t consider himself a great cook, he wanted to share one of the most popular dishes of his country. Ful medames, which basically means ‘buried beans’, uses a common regional ingredient – brown beans – that can be mixed with virtually anything. For UKook, Mohamed is preparing ful with vegetables and tahini sauce, which is a healthier version. This dish can be found on nearly every street corner in the whole country, and Egyptians eat it at any time – even for breakfast. If you want to know how to make it, check out the video and the recipe. It’s easy, quick and delicious!

Ful medames
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Considerations: vegan and vegetarian

STEP 1
Chop the tomatoes, onion and one-third of each pepper into small pieces. Chop up the olives, too. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

STEP 2
Drain the liquid from the brown beans and rinse them with water until it runs clear. Heat a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan and add the beans. Spread the beans out in the pan, but don’t let them get cooked: add the vegetable mix prepared in step one right away. Stir gently.

Add some minced garlic or garlic powder and cumin. The last ingredient is the tahini, which you can find in arabic supermarkets. Add no more than a tablespoon.

STEP 3
Use a masher – the same kind you would use to mash potatoes – to mash the bean mix until it begins to release its own juices. Afterwards, cover the pan with a lid and let it cook over low heat for five to ten minutes. Don’t overcook it so as to keep the vegetables crunchy and fresh.

When the dish is done cooking, serve it with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice. This is typically eaten with flat bread, but you can also use Mexican tortillas. Now, it’s time to enjoy: Bon Appétit!