We came to Manchester as my dad had his direct flight back to Orlando booked from this airport. So after arriving at our hotel, we checked for local Indian places to eat at, and Amma's Canteen popped up with great reviews (which indeed they lived up to) and when we called to make a booking, we were in luck and they had a spare table for four.
They are only open for dinner and we ordered the following menu items:
1) Stuffed Kozhukattai - what a fabulous starter! Plus came with a sauce called "Poor Man's Dip" which was fabulously peanutty and coconutty! These are basically wontons stuffed with lovely curried veggies.
2) Masala Dosa - Really light and oil-free Dosa! My mum wasn't a fan due to lots of ginger in the potatoes but I didn't mind that spice making its presence felt. Really enjoyed the earthiness of the Sambar too.
3) Spinach & Red Kidney Bean Dosa - this was a revelation!! Honestly I was very dubious about this combination but with the beautiful spices that are dry roasted with the red kidney beans and the perfectly blanched spinach, I loved the taste of the Dosa. When the owner came and chatted to us later, he said the reason for this combo was because these are three of his very fave things to eat, and so he played around with the combination till he got it right. I am glad he persisted and my tummy benefited from his experimentation! Probably my fave thing from the menu!
4) Kaikari mandi with Oothappam - lots of winter vegetables in a most interesting curry and Utthapham (which is a rice+lentil pancake). I found this menu item to be a bit muddled in its tastes. Not sure this combo worked for me, but individually, both items were delicious. I liked the mandi curry more with rice. This too had a bit of a good spicy kick to it.
5) Alleppey Fish curry with steamed rice - my brother got this and holy moly! Dense and rich coconut curry with a beautifully cooked fish. This had a spicy bite to it, but delicious. Probably my second fave menu item.
6) Trio of dessert - we were full from earlier menu items, but the table next to us ordered it, and then we couldn't resist. One cool surprise was the roasted rice used as a topping on top of the carrot halwa - never seen that done before at a restaurant and it worked well. The Gulab Jamun was hot and tasted great and the Milk-Payasam was light, and not massively sweet at all. Great end to the meal.
It's a really well curated menu, with lots of items that I haven't seen in restaurants previously. Amma means mother and I really did feel like I was eating a home-cooked meal. Plus there were so many dishes I was unfamiliar with, as I believe this is a Kerala region restaurant, and so the cuisine is something I'm not that familiar with. I also really enjoyed the fact the Owner came out later to chat with us and get feedback on the meal - it was great talking to him and letting him know how much we enjoyed the food.
Absolutely recommend and hope to return when next back in Manchester.
Yelp 19/ 2019 read more