By Mia Hanuska
Welcome to the Traveling Cart! I’m Mia Hanuska, and I’ll be your guide on this world tour. Each issue, the cart travels to a new country and explores its history and culture through a customized 3-course meal of traditional dishes cooked by yours truly. This issue, the cart has ventured to the beautiful deserts of Sudan.
About Sudan:
Pronunciation: soo-dahn
National Languages: Arabic and English
Population: 51.8 million
Capital: Khartoum
Flag: 🇸🇩
A Very Condensed History of Sudan
Before 8000 B.C.E., a Neolithic culture thrived on the Nile river, and through their migratory patterns, eventually brought irrigation and agricultural techniques to the land that then became the Kingdom of Kush. This kingdom brought the Nubian pyramids and their people, who were mentioned in the bible, as saving the Israelites. The fall of the Kingdom of Kush brought the era of the Medieval Christian Nubian Kingdoms. These Nubians developed cultural and political power, invading their neighbors to the north while also establishing their own language. Islam began gaining ground in the 1600-1700s when preachers came from other countries. The major kingdom, the Funj state, held power for multiple centuries until a coup brought change along with the increased orthodoxy of Islam.
In 1821, the land was invaded by the Ottoman rulers of Egypt, Muhammad Ali of Egypt, and Isma’il. The conquest by Egypt improved Sudanese infrastructure, but when Ismail’s son Tewfik was forcibly put on the throne and implemented corrupt policies, Egyptian prime minister ‘Urabi revolted. Handling the situation incorrectly, Tewfik called on Britain for support, resulting in high taxes and a poor economy. After nearly 70 years of tension and various attempts at invading the nearby countries, Sudan was colonized fully by the British through a bloody war.
Once the war ended, Britain and Egypt essentially agreed upon ruling Sudan as a Crown colony. From 1924 until 1956, Britain ran the country as two separate territories; north and south. During World War 2, the Sudan Defence Force played a large part in attacking Mussolini’s fascist Italy, targeting land around Italian Somaliland and Kassala. With the Egyptian revolution of 1952, Egypt’s new rulers believed the only way for Sudan to gain independence was for Egypt to abandon its claims of sovereignty of the land. Egypt and Britain allowed northern and southern territories to vote whether they’d like freedom, and the people ultimately voted for it. Sudan gained independence on January 1st, 1956.
This Stop’s Menu
Main: Fuul, or Ful Medames (فول مدمس)
Side: Ta’mia and Salatet Zabady bil ajur
Sweet Treat: Kaak
Main: Fuul / Ful Medames / فول مدمس
Fuul, Ful Medames, or fava beans, are not solely unique to Sudan. Popular among pharaohs in ancient Egypt, most dishes involving fava beans in Sudan were results of the Egyptian and British colonization efforts resulting in the spread of cultural dishes. Considered Sudan’s national dish, fuul is praised for its nutritional value, especially among many citizens whom suffer from poverty. Sudan’s poorest call the water the beans are cooked in “Bush,” referring U.S. President Bush’s cutting of aid to Sudan in 1990. Despite this, fuul remains a cultural centerpiece in Sudan’s culinary scene, often being prepared in the morning during Ramadan to prepare for fasting.
Following this recipe from Sudanese Kitchen, I found this dish quite yummy. With very few steps, the most laborious being chopping an onion (which, yet again, I was brought to tears from), and the rest mostly standing and waiting for things to start cooking, the time to taste ratio on this is incredible. To find fava beans in the Bay Area wasn’t as difficult as I originally expected, and after a quick trip to the International Bazaar on Curtner, I had my beans. The only unfortunate part about this dish is that I didn’t catch the mistake in the recipe of an entire tablespoon of table salt, and despite only adding in a quarter of the amount, my beans were still incredibly salty. With a small change to the salt content however, I could definitely find myself making this again!
Side: Ta’mia & Salatet Zabady bil ajur / طعمية& . سلطة زبادي بالخيار
While tamia is more commonly known as an Egyptian dish, Sudanese ta’mia adopts countless differences to adapt it to the separate region. In Sudan, ta’mia is made with chickpeas, a cash crop integral to Sudan’s economy and to the region’s soil as it conserves nitrogen content. Furthermore, the rich protein make-up of the bean makes it favorable among the poor since it’s easy to get ahold of and very filling. The Sudanese version of this ta’mia also includes fewer ingredients, making it ideal for many Sudanese people.
Using this recipe for the Ta’mia, I fear I must’ve done something wrong. I opted to follow the written instructions instead of the video, and my mixture turned out too wet to hold its own form. By the time I realized this, however, I had already lost two casualties to the frying oil. Giving up, I quickly pivoted to the airfryer, where I believed it’d be easier to flip the individual patties. Unfortunately, they managed to also get stuck to the tray of the airfryer (hence the questionable exterior). And perhaps I’m not the hugest fan of coriander seed, because the taste was a little too strong for me.
On the flip side, this cucumber salad turned out delicious! It’s hard to go wrong with such a simple, two ingredient salad, and I found the creaminess of the yogurt to cut the dead-sea levels of salt in my Fuul very well. I’d honestly probably eat this again plain or with some thin bread!
Sweet Treat: Ka’ak / Kaak / كَعك
Baked in the shape of a circle to resemble the sun, Ka’ak/Kaak/Kahk are small cookies likely originating from ancient Egypt. Now, however, families in Sudan regularly make these treats for holidays such as Christmas, Easter, and Eid, stuffing them with dates or small nuts. Some evidence shows similar cookies were offered to Egyptian gods in rituals, and the cookies represent love, unity, and communal joy.
To make these, I followed this recipe from Cooking With Zara. Unfortunately, I can’t say I recommend the recipe, as there seemed to be quite a few inconsistencies with it—one photo shows milk as an ingredient, yet nowhere in the recipe, blog, or video is milk added to the cookies. Nor is there any sugar (I suppose the dates are meant to provide the sweetness?), and upon realizing this, I took inspiration from this recipe and added a small amount. Also, I’m not sure if it’s something I did wrong, but these turned out very dry and crumbly for me. It could be the swap of gluten free flour, but the recipe said it should work, so I’m not sure what happened. Other than the texture, the spices were nice and cozy, and the overall vibe reminded me of my mom’s Russian tea cookies she makes at Christmastime. I’m not sure if I could recommend Cooking with Zara’s recipe—especially since it originally calls for an entire kilogram of flour (and 6 sticks of butter!) for just 24 cookies—but I would be interested in attempting this again with the Sudanese Kitchen’s recipe here.
Thank you for joining the Traveling Cart as we dove into the history of Sudan through making three delicious dishes! Currently, Sudan has been suffering through a large genocide since 2023. Their current president, Omar al-Bashir, has been systemically killing non-Arabs in the Darfur region of Sudan. If you’re able to, consider donating or offering support to one of the following charities: Sudan Relief Fund, UN Refugee Agency, or Darfur Women in Action. If you’re interested in learning more about Sudan, I’ve scribed a few sources on the back of this parchment you can check out. Ah, the horses are ready for our next adventure—see you at the next destination!
Sources:
https://www.sudanembassy.nl/history-of-sudan
https://www.remitly.com/blog/lifestyle-culture/nationaldishes-ful-medames-fascinating-facts-sudan
https://www.yhorlife.co/nutritionandrecipespotlight/foodspotlightsudanesetamiya