Fuhl Medammas – or: how to make bean purée sexy
There are dishes that you can not really explain. Simply saying “That’s delicious!” is usually not enough, unfortunately. If I say “This is vegan!only my vegan friends react with jumps in the air. Bean puree doesn’t really sound sexy either … So let’s call a spade a spade: Fuhl Medammas. But, how can I introduce someone to a rather ugly mush made from chickpeas and fava beans? Right, I just put it in front of the guests without warning and hope that they like it.
Fuhl Medammas: Best breakfast in the Levant!
I am really incredibly happy that so far not only everyone has liked it – but that even all were enthusiastic. So, Fuhl (or Ful or Foul) is a mush of beans and chickpeas, which is dressed with garlic, lemon juice and cumin.
But that alone does not make the dish. My mother always says “Fuhl you have to spoil!” So how do you spoil chickpeas and beans? With herbs, fruity tomatoes, fresh and pickled vegetables. Accompanied by olives and delicious tea.
So you have this mush as a base, add a small handful of chopped parsley and mint on top and cover the herbs with sweet diced tomatoes. The final touch is given to Fuhl Medammas with a good dash of olive oil. So, I present this to my friends – and they look at me with wide eyes. Something is missing …
It is eaten with the hands!
No spoon, no knife, no fork … “How are you supposed to eat that!!?”
I pass thin Lebanese pita bread and demonstrate how I would eat Fuhl Medammas.
I tear off a piece of pita bread, hold it between my thumb and forefinger, and press the bread into my mouth. In doing so, I try to absorb as much of the delicious bean puree as I can. I then have some of the mash, fresh herbs, and tomato tosses in the pita – and everything is glistening from the olive oil.
I eat it and smile at my friends. After a few initial failed attempts, it works for everyone and the smile spreads.
Ful Medammas is a really tasty and, above all, very convivial affair. When preparing it, pay attention to the quality of the ingredients, especially the olive oil. For snacks, I always serve a selection of fresh and pickled vegetables and olives. This is accompanied by either black tea or mocha.
Recipe for Fuhl Medammas
Ingredients
For the Ful
- 500 g Cooked fava beans / broad beans
- 250 g cooked chickpeas
- 2 Garlic cloves
- 1,5 TSP Cumin
- 1 Lemon
- 1 TL Harissa
- Salt
For the topping
- 1 bunch flat leaf parsley
- 4 Branches Mint
- 3 Tomatoes
- Olive oil abundant, at least 3 tablespoons per serving
- Lebanese pita bread
Zubereitung
- Cover the fava beans and chickpeas with water in a pot and heat over medium heat. You don't need to cook anything here – just make sure everything is nice and hot.
- Squeeze the lemon.
- Peel the garlic and crush it in a mortar with a little salt.
- Mix the crushed garlic with the lemon juice and cumin in a bowl.
- Chop the parsley and mint leaves. You can mix them together and put them in a small bowl.
- Dice the tomatoes.
- Put the beans and chickpeas with 1/4 of the liquid into the bowl with the garlic and mash coarsely with a potato masher.
- Stir and season with salt and harissa. If the bean puree is too thick, you can stir in more of the liquid or a little water.
- Divide the fuhl among 4 bowls, top with parsley, mint and diced tomatoes.
- Pour plenty of olive oil over the fuhl.
- Serve Fuhl Medammas still warm with pita bread, olives and pickled and fresh vegetables of your choice.
Notes
Nährwerte
Divide the bean puree among small bowls or deep plates.
Each person garnishes their Ful with chopped parsley, mint and tomatoes. Finally, pour a good drizzle of olive oil over the Ful. Don’t be sparing with the olive oil – a small ditch of oil is allowed to form.
Ful is eaten with the hands.
Tear off a piece of pita bread and hold it between your thumb and forefinger. Press the bread into the ful and try to take in as much ful as you can. Then put it in your mouth..
You can serve various fresh and pickled vegetables with the ful: fresh peppers, cucumbers, radishes, chilli peppers etc.
More of the same? Be sure to try hummus fatteh or wamre chickpeas in tahini sauce called musabaha.
