Snacks

4 recipes

Bessara

Dried split fava beans (foul mudammas) soak overnight with bicarbonate of soda. Simmer with garlic, bay, coriander seeds and water for 1 hour until completely soft. Blitzed (or mashed) with garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, salt and lemon juice into a thick spoonable purée, looser than hummus but thicker than soup. Plated in a wide shallow bowl: a swirl in the centre, doused with the green oil (olive oil + paprika + cumin + chopped parsley), maybe a sprinkle of dukkah on top, served warm with hot baladi bread.

1 hour 30 minutes Serves4

Feteer Meshaltet

A soft elastic dough rests; divides into 2 balls. Each ball stretches paper-thin on a heavily-oiled / ghee-buttered surface (similar to msemen or yufka, translucent dough). Layered with melted ghee between folds: stretch → ghee → fold into thirds → quarter-turn → stretch → ghee → fold. Repeated 3 times per ball. The two folded packets place stacked on top of each other in a buttered round dish (about 24 cm). Baked at 220°C 25-30 minutes until amber, golden, and the layers have separated dramatically. Served warm with honey, soft cheese, or molasses-and-tahini (the Egyptian classic dip).

1 hour 45 minutes Serves4

Ta'amia (Egyptian Broad-Bean Falafel)

Falafel represents the apotheosis of vegetarian fried food: beans ground to a light, slightly grainy purée, bound minimally with herbs and spices, then deep-fried until the exterior shatters with crispness while the interior remains creamy and pale green. The key to success is never cooking the dried beans, using only dried, soaked varieties (never canned), which allows the texture to remain light and fluffy rather than becoming dense. The extended resting period before frying allows the mixture to firm up, holding its shape during cooking. These are best eaten absolutely fresh, while the interior is still steaming and the exterior crackles.

8 hours Serves24-28

Tameya

Dried split fava beans (sold as "split foul" or "ful asfar" at Egyptian or Middle Eastern shops) soak overnight (never cooked, that's the key). Once drained, the favas are blitzed with onion, garlic, parsley, coriander, dill, leek and a generous dose of cumin, coriander and chilli into a coarse green paste. Rested for 30 minutes; baking soda mixed in for fluffiness. Patties shape between palms; pressed into sesame seeds + crushed coriander seeds; deep-fried 175°C for 2-3 minutes per side until amber-crisp. Drained and stuffed into pita with tahini, salad and pickles.

42 minutes Serves4