falafel

noun Middle Eastern Cookery.

1. a small croquette made with ground chickpeas or fava beans and spices, often served with salad and tahini in pita bread.

noun

1. a ball or cake of ground spiced chickpeas, deep-fried and often served with pitta bread

n.

by 1951 as a traveler’s word, not common or domestic in English until 1970s; from Arabic falafil, said to mean “crunchy.”