Falafel is an Arab food designed for the desert caravans. It contains a lot of nutritious substances in dried form which only need the addition of water. It has gained wide popularity and is now also produced in california and other places. Falafel consists of dried pulses (mainly chick peas), herbs and spices, all ground to a powder. The desert caravans would carry it. Mix it with water, form into cakes and fry it. It was called falafel misr (misr=egypt) and u can make fantastic falafel sandwiches in pocket (pita) bread with tahini (creamed sesame seeds), tomatoes, green peppers and parsley. I firmly believe that if the great American hamburger chains offered identical bun/salad "hamburgers" but made with filafil instead of animal flesh they'd soon find they had a runaway success on their hands! Filafil powder can also be used as a seasoning or a thickener in many ways.