Taamiya: Egypt’s Breakfast Delight

In downtown Cairo, the Nasser Al Fayoumi food cart and restaurant offers a taste of tradition with its widely loved ful and taamiya dishes. These meals, affordable and delicious, are a daily staple for many locals.

Marwa Ezzat and Maha Daqaq chose taamiya for their morning meal at Nasser Al Fayoumi. This food cart and small shop features simple metal chairs and tables set directly on the street. Taamiya, similar in shape to falafel, are crispy bites made from fava beans instead of chickpeas. These bite-sized treats have become a favored breakfast choice for many Egyptians.

Taamiya holds a significant place in the Egyptian diet. It pairs seamlessly with ful medames, a dish made from mashed fava beans. Together, these dishes — known as ful wi taamiya — offer a balance of creamy and crispy flavors. Fava beans have a long history in Egypt, dating back to when they appeared as symbolic offerings in Ancient Egyptian art more than three thousand years ago.

Today, people like 21-year-old Yousef Ahmed continue to preserve this tradition. At his Cairo cart, he prepares taamiya by mashing fava beans with herbs and spices such as cilantro, dill, and cumin. He tends to a cauldron of boiling oil, frying more than 4,000 taamiya each day.

An order of ful wi taamiya costs just 10 Egyptian pounds, equating to only 20 cents. In a country where a third of the population lives in poverty, this affordable breakfast remains a vital part of everyday life.