LONDON: Ful, a dish made of cooked fava beans, is proving to be the dish of choice for fasting Muslims during Ramadan in the Saudi Arabian city of Madinah.
The dish, which is an everyday food across the Arab World, is one of the most popular dishes served in Madinah at Iftar, the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset, and suhoor, the pre-dawn meal.
Ful’s popularity stems from its excellent nutritional value, delicious taste, attractive aroma, and the fact that it is considered to be a very filling food rich in protein.
Iftar in Madinah is not complete without ful and the city’s ful vendors are extremely busy just before sunset with people wanting to buy the freshly prepared dish.
There are two ways of preparing ful in Madinah, one is made of hand-crushed fava beans and the other is prepared with the whole bean.
The preparation of ful varies from region to region in the Arab world. Lebanese foul overflows with the flavours of lemon, olive oil and garlic whilst Egyptian ful is made with olive oil, parsley, cumin and tahini.
Ful — the dish of choice for iftar and suhoor in Madinah
Ful — the dish of choice for iftar and suhoor in Madinah
Where We Are Going Today: Orenda Coffee Hub in Dhahran
- The Hasawi cookie was the highlight of my visit, and definitely something I would order again
In search of a hot beverage that you can hold like a hug for your hand as the winter weather cools? Try Orenda in Dhahran.
According to Dictionary.com, Orenda is defined as “an invisible magic power believed by the Iroquois people of North America to pervade all natural objects as a spiritual energy.”
While geographically far away from the land in which the word originated, the cafe has plenty of inspiration from local and global lands.
Their Hasawi cookies—caked with dates and a tiny bit of nuts and cardamom tucked within to give it texture and an elevated taste of neighboring Al-Ahsa—goes for SR 12. This was the highlight of my visit and I would definitely order again.
I tried it with a satisfying SR 16 cappuccino in a ceramic mug. Soft jazz played on the day of our visit. Plenty of natural light bathed the space with the giant windows and many people were typing on their laptops or scrolling on their phones in silence.
It has a perfectly quiet, perhaps even an orenda atmosphere.
While the weather is still pleasant, you can find many options for outdoor seating. There’s also an upstairs section, up a fun, winding green spiral staircase. Though no elevator was in sight, the bottom floor interior seems wide enough for a wheelchair.
If you do find yourself wandering up the second floor, you’ll find even more seating with an even cozier feel with decor reminiscent of a warm home.
Restrooms are situated on the next and final floor, up even more steps.
A prayer area can be found on the third floor too, along with a massive glass door leading into an outdoor space with tables and chairs aplenty.
Opened eight months ago, it remains the first and only branch in the Kingdom.
Because it seemed very popular, I ordered an iced Orenda matcha for the road, at SR 24. It was decent.
It is open from 6 a.m. until midnight daily, aside from Thursdays and Fridays when it closes at 1 a.m.
Follow them on @orendacoffee.sa.
