Where oil, salt and cumin are key ingredients

Beans

One of our tour guides from Fowa (in the Nile Delta) asked me why foreigners do not know beans! This is a very confusing thing to most Egyptians as fuul (pronounced “fool”) is soul food for this country. It can be eaten hot, cold, re-fried, with added garlic or tomato or onions. It can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or on a sandwich!

What beans do most of us foreigners know then, if any?
• British people would say baked beans (in a tin)
• Americans probably kidney beans (in a can)
• Others of us probably green beans, which are in an entirely different category.

But the fuul here is made from Fava beans. These have to be slow cooked, in a small mouthed, deep and rounded silver pot, coming in various sizes depending on the size of the family! Women who prefer to cook their own beans, will start the cooking process after their dawn prayers, return to sleep and look in on the boiling beans a few hours later.

For whom is the bell ringing?

For those who do not enjoy the long, slow boiling of the beans, usually later in the evenings you will hear a bell ringing. As you look over you balcony you will see a tired little donkey, pulling a cart which has one of the big fuul pots on the back. The owner will sell the pre-cooked fuul to whoever wishes to buy. It is sold by the cup-full, and poured into a plastic packet. The women will then add to this whatever suits their taste-buds: usually garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper and of course, cumin! Fuul can be mashed up, or eaten with the beans still whole. Either way it is delicious, especially with some of the llocal fresh shammy bread, straight from the oven. It makes our tin of baked beans look a little boring!

Fabulous falafel!

These are fried balls of dried fava beans and various items of green, leafy goodness! An expert told me you can tell how good a falafel is by the colour inside: good is green and bad is more white! Chopping up all the cilantro, parsley and dill is laborious, so the lazy ones leave it out! You will find falafel in homes, take-away restaurants, 5 star hotels and carts on the side of the road. But whenever you eat falafel, eat it hot and fresh! They are cheap and tasty and you will like them. As usual in Egypt, falafel are best eaten with others Sharing meals is a must!

Serious about Salads

Lest you begin to fear that the food here has too much salt, oil and garlic (YUM) let me assure you that every meal is usually accompanied by a salad. The most common is chopped up onions, tomato and garlic, with cilantro and parsley. Again, it will be mixed with oil, salt, garlic and lemon. Tasty, fresh and deliciously local.

Top it off with some tea

Drinks are very seldom had before or during a meal. But no meal is complete without that ubiquitous cup of tea. Usually in a glass, Lipton is usually drunk black (very strong), and sweet (very sweet), with the occasional sprig of fresh mint. It will leave you feeling full, happy, warm and content. Milk can be located, but is not usual with tea. Requests for coffee (confusing, as this does not normally follow a meal) will usually be met with the popular Nescafe in a single portion packet: 2-in-1 (black with sugar) or 3- in-1(with milk and sugar) or just Nescafe (black).

A complete spread

So ask your guide where to find the best local falafel place. He will happily (and proudly) take you there. You will have 4 or 5 small silver saucers of food hurriedly placed on the table: fuul, falafel (or ta’amiya as it is called in Cairo), salad and some pickles. And of course the pile of fresh bread…
• Rinse your hands
• roll up your sleeves
• and tuck in…

You will be glad that you did!