Foul
Foul is a staple dish in Egypt and many people start their day with this traditional bean dish but it tastes good at any time of the day. Here are two ways to prepare foul at home.
Foul bel demma – Beans with tomato sauce
Ingredients
- 5 stalks parsley, chopped – ba’-doo-nis
- 4 tbsp corn oil – zeit dor-a
- 1-2 tbsp cumin – kam-moon
- salt and pepper – malh and fel-fel
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped – tom
- 1 medium onion, chopped – ba-sal
- 3 cups tomato juice – a-seer ta-ma-tem
- 3 cups cooked black beans or 2 cans beans – fool es-wed or fool me-da-mes
Directions
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil over medium heat in a medium saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and fry until golden.
- Add the tomato juice while stirring constantly until it boils.
- Reduce the heat, cover the pan and leave to cook for about 15 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
- Add the beans and season with cumin, salt and pepper. Add little water. Boil for another 15 minutes.
- Take off the heat and taste to adjust the seasoning.
- Serve in a bowl, add the remaining oil on top and garnish with parsley.
Foul bel khodar – Beans with vegetables
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp garlic, crushed – tom
- 1 green chili pepper, chopped – fel-fel akh-dar ha-ra’a
- 1 stalk parsley, chopped – ba’-doo-nis
- 1 tbsp tomato paste – sal-set ta-ma-tem
- 2 tbsp margarine or oil – sam-na or zeit
- 3 medium onions, chopped – ba-sal
- 3 medium tomatoes – ta-ma-tem
- 3 medium green peppers – fel-fel akh-dar
- 4 cups black beans or 2 1/2 cans beans – fool es-wed or fool me-da-mes
- salt and pepper – malh and fel-fel
Directions
- Cut the tomatoes into bite size cubes and cut peppers into bite size squares.
- Heat the margarine or oil in a medium deep pan. Add the onions and stir until yellow.
- Add the garlic, parsley and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add the chili pepper and after another minute add the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to mix well. Leave to simmer for 5 -7 minutes.
- Add the beans, salt and pepper and stir to mix the beans with the vegetables. Add some water and leave to cook for another 10 minutes.
- Serve in a bowl.