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My most memorable meal in London was at an Afghan restaurant called Ariana at Mile End neighborhood. This is the Qabili Pulao or Kabuli Palaw, a traditional Afghan pilaf dish that’s usually a complete meal in itself. It’s steamed long-grained rice cooked in lamb-shank juices — that come from three hours of boiling — mixed with fried carrots, raisins, almonds and pistachios. When served, the lamb was buried in the middle of the dish, but unearthing it from the pile of rice revealed the most tender meat that fell gracefully even with just the nudge of a fork. It complemented the sweetness brought by the raisins, and was just — to put it simply — really, really good.