Globecooking recipe : Taamias (Egypt)

This month's Kitchen Trotter box is a culinary journey to Egypt, a country I've never been to and I had no real idea of what to expect in foodie terms either. The first recipe was for Taamias, the Egyptian version of Falafel.

The main difference is that it uses split fava beans instead of the usual chickpeas - I had a tub of those and a sachet of Taamia spice in my Kitchen Trotter box. They're suprisingly easy to make - the kids even got involved.

Taamias

ingredients :

250g split fava beans

4tsp taamia spice

1 onion

big handful of fresh coriander 

1 clove of garlic

1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tbsp flour

salt, pepper

oil for frying

Put the taamia spice, salt, pepper, onion, coriander and garlic in a bowl. I discovered that my coriander plant has died so I used a handful of fresh mint leaves instead which tasted great too.

Cook the split fava beans in boiling water for 25 minutes, drain and add to the bowl.

Blitz in a food processer or with a stick blender to form a coarse breadcrumb-like mixture. Don't worry if there are still some lumps of fava beans but make sure the onion and garlic are finely chopped. Add the flour and bicarb. If you can't get it to form into balls, chill in the fridge for a while. I also drizzled in 2tbsp olive oil to help.

Press the mixture into balls with your hands.

Shallow fry in a frying pan with some olive oil.

Don't move them around too much or they'll start to break up but brown them on all sides.

Serve with salad, flatbread or pitta bread (I'll have a recipe coming up for the bread you can see in this picture in the next couple of days) and a dip made of crème fraîche or Greek yogurt mixed with garlic, fresh mint, salt, pepper and lime juice.

*** Don't miss my country-by-country globecooking recipe index ! ***