Breakfast · Stewed

Ful Medames (Stewed Fava Beans)

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The pear-shaped pots it's cooked in are called qidra, and traditionally the beans simmered slowly overnight so they were ready for the morning rush.

Slow-cooked fava beans mashed with olive oil, lemon, garlic, and cumin, scooped up with fresh bread — sold from carts with beans kept warm in large copper pots all morning.

Why it's made this way: Fava beans have been cultivated in the Nile Valley since ancient Egypt, and the slow-cook method suited communal pots that stayed warm for hours of continuous street selling.