Are you in the mood for some dazzling white, perfect cauldron shaped appams and yet do not want to go to the popular restaurants in Kolkata serving South Indian cuisine, simply because you want to try out something new? Well, for such folks, there’s Ammini!
Imagine a garage space at the basement of your flat meant to park your Honda civic or Hyundai elantra and you will get a fairly rough idea of the space in which Ammini operates. I was amazed at how much efficiency had been packed in that little space, without leaving any room for any dissatisfaction or irritation to creep into the diners. We landed there on a Saturday evening and the 20 odd seater eatery was packed with people. Yet I noticed that everyone was happy and if there were to grumbling folks or discontented diners, my eyes failed to pick them up. Service at Ammini is quick and dishes are served with a smile on a green banana leaf spread on a rectangular bamboo tray that acts as the food plate.
Ammini is all about vibrancy and what struck a chord in me the moment I entered the place was the burst of colours that made the little cubby hole a joy to be in.
Apart from the green of the banana leaves, the green, purple and blue colour of the cushions, the egg yolk yellow on one of the walls contrasting with the muted cream on the other, the slate pink on the columns and finally, the vibrantly colourful paintings of the Kathakali dancer and Lord Ganesh adorning the walls, all sync wonderfully to raise the happiness quotient of diners to seventh heaven!
Ammini is therefore all about happiness ; happiness that comes from its colourful ambience, it’s efficient and eager to please staff and, last but not the least, it’s food. We tried the mutton fry and potato stew as an accompaniment to the appams. The mutton fry was perfect in its flavour of spices and the sweetness of the potato stew acted as a perfect foil to the slightly tangy flavour of the appam. I did however note a slight hint of raw uncooked rice dough in the second appam that I had ordered, the rawness probably attributable to the rush of diners on that particular day. I must however add that it did not, in any way, lessen my happiness . Such was the delight that pervaded in our hearts that we decided to go the extra mile and order a bowl of kesari. Kesari is the sweet, saffron coloured halwa, the camphor flavour of which winds its way straight down into our hearts with every spoonful.
Portions of food at Ammini tends to be on the smaller side and hence a big eater would do well to order a helping all for himself. Being a small place, most of the accompaniments are probably cooked elsewhere and only heated before being served here, a fact that makes service quite fast at this place. I guess that the kitchen is probably only used to prepare only appams and Malabar parathas.
We loved Ammini; it’s ambience, flavours and the promptness of service. Will certainly go back another day to try out some more of their dishes.
Straight From My Heart 
Ammini is beautiful
LikeLike