What is the main ingredient of hummus?

Chickpeas - hummus is simply the Arabic word for them, so hummus bi tahina, the full name, means chickpeas with tahini. Ordering hummus in Arabic gets you the legume rather than the dip.

The chickpea is one of the oldest domesticated crops, cultivated in the Fertile Crescent for something like ten thousand years, and it is unusual among pulses in having a high proportion of protein and being tolerant of dry conditions - which is why it spread across a belt from the Mediterranean to India and became a staple in exactly the places where growing anything is difficult.

Who owns the dish is a real dispute rather than a joke. Lebanon has attempted to claim protected designation for it as Lebanese, arguing that Israel markets it as an Israeli national food; Israeli cuisine incorporated it from Palestinian and Mizrahi traditions; and there have been competing world-record attempts for the largest bowl. Underneath the record-breaking is a serious argument about culinary attribution and appropriation in a region where food is one of the few things nearly everyone shares.