Sudan | Main dish

Ful Medames

Name: Ful Medames
Prep time: 490 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 610 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Sudan, North Africa
Ingredients: 500 g dried fava beans, soaked overnight; 3 tbsp sesame oil; 2 whole lemons, juiced; 1 tsp ground cumin; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 small onion, finely diced; 1 pinch salt, to taste; 1 whole fresh chilli, sliced

Sudanese ful medames, slow-cooked fava beans mashed with cumin, lemon, garlic, onion, chile, and sesame oil.

Country

Sudan

Region

North Africa

Time

610 min

Serves

Level

easy

Explore Sudan recipes Open Vegetarian Africa

Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Ful should be creamy but never lifeless. Keep a little texture in the beans and let the sesame oil finish the bowl.

What the dish tastes like

Sudanese ful medames, slow-cooked fava beans mashed with cumin, lemon, garlic, onion, chile, and sesame oil.

When to cook it

Best for Breakfast, any day, with a easy cooking level and about 610 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Warm bread, boiled eggs, salad, feta, pickles, or extra lemon

Follow the collection

Ful Medames appears in 2 AfroKitchen collections. Start with Vegetarian Africa if you want more dishes in the same mood. Vegetarian Africa

Regional lane

Sudan national table. A verified Sudan dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
Cooking on heat that is too high once the dish should be steaming or simmering.

How you know it is ready

The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
The final texture should match the dish style before you plate it.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

Ful Medames recipe image — Ful Medames finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Ful Medames

Warm bread, boiled eggs, salad, feta, pickles, or extra lemon

Best route from here

Sudan national table

Collections to keep cooking

Vegetarian African Classics

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Main dish

500 g dried fava beans, soaked overnight [Sub: canned fava beans] 3 tbsp sesame oil [Sub: olive oil] 2 whole lemons, juiced 1 tsp ground cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced (optional) 1 small onion, finely diced (optional) 1 pinch salt, to taste 1 whole fresh chilli, sliced (optional)

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Sudan

3 steps 610 min total easy

Cook the beans

Drain soaked fava beans, place in a large pot, and cover with fresh water by 5cm. Bring to a boil, reduce to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for about 2 hours until very soft and breaking apart.

The longer and slower you cook, the creamier the result. Some Sudanese cooks simmer overnight on the lowest heat.

Cook beans 120:00

Mash and season

Drain most of the water, reserving some. Mash the beans roughly with a fork or potato masher — leave some texture. Stir in the cumin, salt, and half the lemon juice.

Sudanese ful is mashed, not pureed — you want chunky bits.

Garnish and serve

Spoon into shallow bowls. Drizzle generously with sesame oil and remaining lemon juice. Top with diced onion, minced garlic, and sliced chilli. Serve immediately with warm bread.

In Sudan, the sesame oil is key — it gives ful its distinctive nutty flavour that sets it apart from Egyptian versions.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

Ful Medames

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Ful Medames

Step-by-step method

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