I have a question that I've asked once before (I don't think it was here, though), but I don't think my question was understood well. Maybe it was poorly asked. I want to try again.
I enjoy Indian cuisine. I love curries, whether they are Makhani or Masala or Navratan. I might like them milder than many do, but I do like them very much. I've had chicken (my favorite), lamb and goat. I like all three meats. But, only the goat is cut up with the bones still in the meat. Often, I find that what I thought was a piece of meat is actually a very small piece of meat with a large piece of bone attached. I have to admit, it takes some of the pleasure out of eating that particular curry for me.
All meats can be cooked with bone in or boneless, or I have always assumed. I know that when stewing, the bones provide added flavor. But, goat is the only one I've never found boneless in these kinds of meals. Can someone explain to me why the bones are left in when it is cut up into small pieces when the bones are not left in chicken or lamb, both smaller animals? Except for Tandoori chicken, that is. I'd really like to understand the reasoning.
Image from Wikimedia Commons. Previously posted to Bubblews.com.
Tonight I was treated to dinner at Alyan's Middle Eastern Restaurant located at 603 South 6th St. (literally just off the famous South Street in Philadelphia). They are a very small venue, but the flavors they offer are HUGE! I have been there before and have always chosen the mixed grill, whether it be the sandwich or the platter. The sandwich is a good buy since it offers as much meat as the platter, but for $5 less. Perhaps I should say it DID offer as much since that may have changed. The one thing I noticed tonight was that there wasn't as much meat on the platter as there had been the last time. Admittedly, they had run out of beef and I opted out of the Kefta, but they said they'd give me more chicken and lamb to make up for it. Maybe they didn't. I just don't know. Despite that, what I had was spectacularly delicious, as it always is.
Now, I'm no fan of hummus and that was a full 1/3 of my platter. But, to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. I broke my pita in half and put the salad, some hummus and pieces of the meat into my pita and ate it as a sandwich. I've had hummus in the past and it was so heavy with garlic that I simply couldn't enjoy it. Garlic lovers may not have issue with it, but it just doesn't please my palate one bit. Tonight, though, the hummus was delicious. Yes, I could taste the garlic, but it was far more low key than I've seen previously. I do like chickpeas, so the hummus and I got along just fine with a sprinkling of salt on top.
For the first time, we ordered a pitcher of mint iced tea. It was superb! Not too minty, yet the mint was there. We had a choice of sweeteners - simple syrup with vanilla bean pods soaking it it, In The Raw sugar packets or Sweet-n-Low. My dining companion chose the former and I chose the latter. I'd never seen a simple syrup offered as an option before. I was impressed.
We ordered extra pitas so that we could finish what was on our plates and then we were done. The entire meal for the two of us was $32 and change. It's a great way for someone unfamiliar with the cuisine to begin. Who doesn't like grilled meat??
