Shawarma

One of the favorite street foods is shawarma. It's a Levantine Arab dish that's extremely popular as street food in Cairo and across Egypt. It's popular throughout the Middle East and beyond, and it's even mentioned in an Avengers post-credit scene. Shawarma is made up of thinly sliced grilled meat sliced from a rotating vertical rotisserie. It's usually served as a pocket sandwich or wrapped in pita bread with onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, french fries, tahini sauce, and hot sauce.

Thin slices of heavily spiced meat – usually beef, chicken, lamb, or mutton – are pierced and stacked onto a vertical skewer to make shawarma. Larger pieces are layered on top to form a cone-shaped stack about 60 cm (20 in) high. The stack is then turned by a motorized spit against a vertical heating element to slowly roast the meat in its own juices and fat. It's delectable and a must-try in Egypt.

Gyros and shawarma are derived from the doner kebab, which first appeared in Ottoman Empire kitchens in the 19th century. In the early twentieth century, Lebanese immigrants brought shawarma to Mexico, where it evolved into tacos al pastor.

It's always interesting to trace the origins of a dish and see how it evolved to suit the local palate, just like the various iterations of pizza.