The blond woman stopped at a vendor's stall and bought stewed lentils, a round of flat bread, and ground chickpeas fried in oil.

Hummus, a Levantine dip of ground chickpeas and sesame tahini with spices and lemon juice.

There were more little bowls of fat, too, for dipping bread into, and a spiced paste of ground chickpeas.

A typical dinner might begin with ground chickpeas and a fresh tomato chutney or spicy carrot relish.

Dinners include a savory little appetizer, like a thumb-size puff of ground chickpeas, delicious when dipped in a chutney.

Falafel - small deep-fried patties made of highly-spiced ground chickpeas.

Falafel - a deep-fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas, fava beans, or both.

Gram flour is a pulse flour made from ground chickpeas or chana dahl.

Dinners include a savory little appetizer, like ground chickpeas with, for instance, a fresh tomato chutney or spicy carrot relish.

Israel does not have a universally recognized national dish; however, many consider it to be falafel, deep fried balls of seasoned, ground chickpeas.