"London is sleeping on its Pakistani restaurants. Perhaps it’s the prevalence of strict no alcohol policies; perhaps it’s that many of them are still working class hubs. Perhaps if more Londoners took measure of the cuisine, the food would change irrevocably. Schrodinger’s chaat. Aladin’s Kebabish in West Hendon is being slept on by many but it doesn’t matter to about one thousand Pakistan families: it is one of the few restaurants that come close to capturing the essence of Karachi and the must-order dishes make up the “holy trinity”: haleem, nihaari and Karachi qorma. The meat porridge of haleem contains the ghost of the strands and fibres it once was, rich and glutinous, lifted by the table addition of ginger, chillis, coriander and lemon. The nihaari is among the city’s best, the fat forming little islets bobbing in an ocean of red oil, above a shank that can be dismantled completely with the back of a spoon. The qorma — either chicken or lamb — is unlike any korma Londoners know, inspired by the Mughals but rich without being creamy, with spicing heavy on black pepper and a subtle acidity. One of London’s best curries." - Jonathan Nunn
