Fuul is a simple dish of cooked fava beans that is ubiquitous in Egypt. It can be served for all three meals, and comes in endless variations.

It’s most basic incarnation is unseasoned whole beans cooked in their juices, and served with bread. Seasoning it with salt is a radical improvement, and it will sometimes come with other flavourings like soft cheese. One of the few good things about our Egyptian bus ride from hell was that the one roadhouse we stopped at in our ten hour journey served only fuul, so at least we had something vegetarian that we could eat.

Fuul can also come pre-seasoned with salt and spices as a paste, which I preferred. My favourite fuul moment was in a small, local restaurant in downtown Cairo called Akher Sa’a, where our spiced fuul paste came with fresh bread, tahini dip and mashed potatoes. Yum!

In Cairo there are chains of popular Egyptian restaurants, for example Gad and Falfela. These places often offer fuul in about 5 - 8 different ways. For example, it can be mixed with tahini sauce…

…served with fresh salad on top (green or red capsicum is a popular addition and often the default if you get fuul as part of an “Egyptian banquet” on a cruise ship or at a tourist hotel)

or even served with a “special sauce” with fresh herbs.

Fuul is vegan by default, and even the special variations are generally meat and dairy free. This fact, and its ready availability, make it a great option for vegetarians, particularly those who like eating locally.

Share This