Israeli food (idea)

This node should probably be called Food eaten in Israel instead, since there are very few things that are specifically and only Israeli, as opposed to being Mediterranean, Ashkenazi, Arabic or otherwise originating from one of the many places Israelis come from. Still, out of all these possible cuisines only a few food items have actually become popular, so here's a list of them.

Probably The Only Really Israeli Dish

• Israeli salad

Ubiquitous Fast Food

• börek (Turkish? East European? Both?)
• falafel (deep-fried chick pea balls)
  and yes, I know this is considered Israel's national food these days, but everybody else thereabouts eats it too...
• meorav yerushalmi (Jerusalem mixed grill)
• shawarma (the Middle East's name for döner kebap/gyros/...)
• Hummus/Chips/Salat?
• Israeli style Thai chicken baguette

Who Needs Salads, We've Got Pastes

• babaghanoush (eggplant and tahini)
• hummus (chickpeas and tahini)
• tahini/tehina (sesame seed-based paste)
  • Tehina-Lemon Sauce

Yemenite Food

• jachnun (bread, kinda)
• malawach (more bread, kinda)
• zhug (spicy paste for both of the above)

Largely popularized by the Yemenite fast food chains Nargilla and Nafis. Pester Jester21 or enwhysea to node up more of these!

(Other) Arabic and/or Sephardic Food

See Lebanese food for a list, there aren't many Palestinian specialties that I know of.

Ashkenazi Food Like Your Jewish Mother Used To Make

• bagel ("a bread-based object" -- but less popular in Israel than you might think)
• cholent (Sabbath stew)
• gefilte fish (gak! splutter!)
• knish (cf. piroshki)
• latkes
  • potato latkes (potato pancakes)
• matzo (unleavened bread for Passover)
  • matzoh ball soup
  • matzo brei
• seder (the entire ritualized Passover meal)
  • charoset (a concoction of fruits, nuts, honey and wine)
  • maror (bitter herbs)
• schnitzel (breaded and deep-fried chunks'o'meat)

Food-Related Religious Concepts

• chametz (leavened bread, banned on Passover; Jewish)
• halal (acceptable; Islamic)
• kosher (acceptable; Jewish)
• treyf (not acceptable; Jewish)

Just Plain Evil

• bamba (Israeli Cheetos)

Additions welcome (where are sabich, lafa, za'atar...?). Le'chaim!