'LEADIN: Egyptian street food is winning over Londoners who claim it\'s a cheap, healthy and filling alternative to the sandwich. The UK capital\'s first Koshari restaurant is packing in hungry Londoners every lunch. STORYLINE: Egyptian street food in the heart of London. Many of these people are getting their first taste of Koshari - a mix of lentils, rice, pasta, tomato sauce and onions. This is \"Koshari Street,\" located in the heart of London\'s West End. Customer Mandy Smith comes here because it reminds her of her holidays. \"I used to have it when I was in Egypt,\" she says. \"I went there travelling when I was younger so it makes a real refreshing change to be able to have it now.\" The base of Koshari is a hot mix of lentils, rice and pasta. Next a hot sauce is added, this can be made spicier to taste. Chick peas are layered on top before the plate is crowned with a generous sprinkling of fried onions. Susie Preece works nearby and says she was keen to try something more than just another sandwich. She says: \"A friend of mine said he was having some Egyptian street food and I immediately thought \'Yeah, I\'m going to try it out\'.\" Another customer, Elaine Burroughs, works for an international children\'s charity nearby and is looking for a vegetarian lunch. She says: \"I\'m vegetarian anyway, but it isn\'t what I\'d call typical vegetarian food. It was wholesome, healthy, yeah I enjoyed it.\" And Koshari is not only on offer in this shop. The Egyptian street food is also being sold on the streets of London. This is Borough Market, the capital\'s busiest street food market. Here you can taste flavours from all around the world. And the latest addition is Koshari - a stall has been set up as a sister venue to the Koshari Street shop. Anissa Helou is an Arabic food expert and writer and works at Koshari Street as a consultant. She is here in Borough Market to taste the food. It was Helou\'s job to introduce Koshari - and it wasn\'t necessarily easy at first, because nobody had a concept of the dish. \"I think it was very interesting at the beginning because people didn\'t know what Koshari was and we didn\'t actually have enough visuals in the shop. So - apart from explaining to them what it was - it was very important for us to give them, to let them try the Koshari. So we gave tasters to almost everybody and we still do funnily enough,\" she says. In Cairo nobody needs a taste sample to convince them. Koshari is a staple and part of many people\'s weekly diets. In the kitchen of this restaurant, the skilled Egyptian chefs make an art out of quickly plating the dishes. Rim Ahmed is here with her family and is pleased that Koshari is being enjoyed outside Egypt. \"It tastes good and has different components. It contains proteins and carbohydrates, it is a complete meal. I like that my children have it because when they have it I feel that they ate a complete meal. I am honoured that it represents us in foreign countries and I am glad that we are known for it,\" she says. According to Helou, who has tasted cuisines from across the Arab world, says the appeal is in the flavouring. \"When you think about it, lentils, rice, pasta, tomato sauce, it doesn\'t sound very exciting but when you taste it and you have the different textures, different flavours and the spiciness of it all. It becomes much more exciting,\" she says. She also believes it is a healthy option. \"And there\'s a definite, definite trend toward Arab or Middle Eastern food in London,\" adds Helou. It seems Egypt\'s Kochari is fast becoming a palette pleaser in the British capital. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d12a9185d7bf31ff61b621a37c0a4fd6 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork'
Tags: Lifestyle , london , egypt , england , united kingdom , Western Europe , AP Archive , cairo , middle east , North Africa , 2022897 , d12a9185d7bf31ff61b621a37c0a4fd6 , MEEX UK Koshari
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