In Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s capital, the streets are lined with paddle-wielding chefs called oshpaz who expertly tend to the sizzling contents of enormous cauldronlike pans.

The air fills with aromas of frying meat and vegetables, all blanketed in rice that steams atop the other ingredients.

This is plov, a hearty pilaf that is the national food. It’s also much more. “Cooked correctly, plov is beautifully aromatic, steaming and almost melting in the mouth,” says Caroline Eden, author of books including “Samarkand” and “Red Sands,” both of which document her travels through Uzbekistan.

The dish is assembled and cooked in layers: Browned meat is topped with sautéed aromatics and carrot, then with rice. But before any of that, the rice is rinsed, then soaked to rid the grains of excess starc

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