Besides the fritters themselves, falafel can refer to filled what?

Besides the fritters themselves, falafel can refer to filled sandwiches.

The word falafel commonly describes the deep-fried balls or patties made from ground legumes, herbs, and spices. It can also describe the sandwich built around them, usually by placing the fritters inside pita or another flatbread with sauces and vegetables.

A falafel sandwich may include tahini, chopped salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, pickled vegetables, and hot sauce. The exact combination varies by region and vendor. In the Levant, chickpeas are especially common, while Egyptian falafel, or ta’amiya, is traditionally made primarily from fava beans.

Falafel sandwiches became a major street-food format because they are inexpensive, portable, filling, and easy to customize. Historian Gil Marks has linked the popularization of the pita version in Israel to the 1950s and Jewish Yemeni refugees, although a 1939 newspaper reference documents falafel served in pita as street food.

The term therefore has two connected meanings: the fried food itself and the prepared sandwich containing it.