Broad beans, fresh or frozen, are used for various foods, from salads to dips. They have a sweet earthy flavor, are rich in protein, fiber, and minerals, and provide multiple health benefits. But can they be part of your diet if you are following a low fodmap regimen?
The answer, unfortunately, is no. According to the Monash app fodmap rating, broad beans are high fodmap and need to be avoided. However, there is a way out here if you still want to try broad beans. Go for small proportions of canned broad or fava beans. Canned legumes (fava beans belong to the legume family) are low fodmap after being drained and rinsed.
Here are some exciting recipes if you want to incorporate fava beans into your fodmap diet.
Foul Mudammas
This mouthwatering recipe uses creamy fava beans with tangy lemon sauce, fresh herbs, and ground cumin for that out-of-this-world flavor. Combine it with some warm pita bread, and you have a complete meal. You can find these beans at your local grocery store in the international section.
Ingredients
There are four simple ingredients for the foul mudammas recipe. They are:
- Canned Fava Beans: You need 3 cups of fava beans for this recipe. The beans need to be soaked overnight. After the beans have been drained, they need to be cooked in water. The beans become tender after they have been cooked for an hour.
- Hot Lemon Garlic Sauce: To get the Mediterranean flavor, ground cumin is added, and this helps with digestion. The true flavor, however, comes from the sauce. This sauce is made using fresh lemon juice and chili peppers. The lemon juice ensures that the sauce is not too spicy.
- Extra Virgin Garlic Oil: Although this seems insignificant, a generous dose gives you a velvety look that stewed fava beans have. You also get variety in the flavor.
- Fresh Herbs: Diced tomatoes and fresh parsley are the perfect garnish for the stew. It adds a lot of color to the dish.
Instructions
- Heating, mashing, and seasoning: The canned fava beans are already cooked. Place the beans in a saucepan after draining them. Take half a cup of water and heat the beans over medium heat. For seasoning, you need a bit of ground cumin and kosher salt. Remove the beans from the heat. Mash the beans using a potato masher. Don't go for individual beans. Just make sure the beans achieve a soft consistency.
- Add the sauce and oil: Smash the green chili peppers and garlic with a mortar and pestle. Mix them well after adding lemon juice. This gives the mudammas the right blend of tangy and not-too-spicy flavor. The spicy sauce should be poured over the fava beans and stirred. Add the extra virgin olive oil to this.
- Fresh Toppings: Next, add the fresh toppings using fresh parsley and diced tomatoes. Your foul mudammas are ready, and all you need is hot pita bread.
Falafel
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of peeled dry fava beans
- 1/2 of peeled dry chickpeas
- 1 finely chopped green parts of onion
- Fresh parsley - 2 tablespoons
- Salt 1 tsp
- Ground red pepper 1/4 teaspoon
- Cumin 3/4 teaspoon
- Baking powder - 1 tablespoon
- Garlic Oil - to fry
Instructions
- Drain and rinse the beans after being soaked overnight in water. There should be 2 inches of oil in the frying pan that should be preheated to 350-degree Fahrenheit.
- Blend the beans in a food processor. Add other ingredients to this, and produce a thick paste-like mixture.
- Fry the falafel in hot oil after removing it from the mixture. The falafel will turn golden brown after being fried for around 2 minutes. Hot pita bread or tahini sauce would be the perfect accompaniment.
Final Thoughts
Even though broad beans are high fodmap, you can use the canned beans for some mouthwatering recipes. Make sure you control your serving portions!
Medically reviewed by Onikepe Adegbola, MD PhD
