Egyptian Ful Medammes

Ful Medammes or slow cooked Fava Beans, is truly the only food that is guaranteed to keep you full through most of your fasting day. It is an ancient dish, dating back to the Pharaohs, that is somewhat a traditional Egyptian breakfast nowadays. Being cheap and easy to prepare, it the perfect sohour. There are many recipes for full, but the Egyptian recipe is the most commonly preferred one.

Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
• 2 cups of small Egyptian Fava beans ( full medames), soaked overnight with skin on.
• Salt to taste
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Extra-virgin olive oil or melted butter (3 tablespoons)
• 3 lemons, quartered
• 4—6 cloves of garlic, crushed and mixed with salt and pepper
• Chili-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon Cumin

Preparation:
• Soak the beans overnight for 8- 10 hours then drain.
• Place the beans, garlic, and cumin in a large saucepan and cover with fresh, un-salted water.
• Bring to boil.
• Remove from heat and start mashing with a potato masher or a fork.
• Stir in the lemon, oil, salt, parsley, and chili pepper.

*Tahina, onions, and tomatoes give an added taste to the recipe.

Ramadan Atayef

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 30 pancakes

Ingredients: 
• 20-30 Atayefs / pancakes from the bakers
• Ricotta cheese
• Flaked coconut
• Orange blossom/ rose water
• Granulated sugar
• Nuts
• Honey

Preparation:
• Start by preparing your filling. Get 2 cups of ricotta cheese and mix with the rose/orange blossom water (optional). Add 1 tablespoon of sugar to taste but don't make it overly sweet.
• Take each round pancake and put a teaspoon of filling in the center (on the spongy side).
• Fold the pancake in half (without squeezing out the filling), and pinch the edges sealed to form a crescent shaped pancake.
• In a saucepan, fry the filled pancakes in ¾ inch layer of oil, until golden brown.
• Drizzle some honey and sprinkle some nuts on the top for garnish and added taste.

*can be cooked as an appetizer too by using white salty feta cheese for the filling and not adding the sugary ingredients.