In a NUtshell

A super tiny eatery with first floor seating accessed by a narrow staircase, uninterested service staff, very good biryani, rest average food.

Address & other details: Amma mess

Meal for 2: ₹250 onwards

Cuisine type : vegetarian & non vegetarian

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We paid in cash. No bill.

YUMMRAJ rates all the food items & then gives a final overall rating, which is a simple average of the individual item ratings. What the ratings stand for: 5 = Excellent, 4 = Very Good, 3 = Good, 2 = Fair, 1 = Disaster

Short description- in case u r in a hurry

We got to know about this eatery from our friend Rama, who is from karaikudi – that place in Tamil Nadu that has Chettiar villages. Also called the chettinad region. A large number of eateries across the country & other parts of the world have a dish called ‘chettinad chicken’ – inspired by this place.

Our visit to chettinad region few years back made us understand that they gave a fabulous food culture but what is sold elsewhere as chettinad food is generally way inferior to the real thing. Read our earlier experience here – chettinad

Rama spoke very highly of their mutton biryani & a few more non vegetarian items. So one Saturday we ended up driving to Karol Bagh, from gurgaon – to taste the food.

The eatery shows in google maps as Amma mess halal. It does not mention ‘halal’ prominently on the signboard though.

The signboard is big, with loads of information.

Half of the ground floor of this small restaurant is occupied by the kitchen area. In the other half there is a tabke with 4 plastic chairs around it.

A huge menu card was hanging from the wall.

The ground floor was open area – so it seemed dirty at places & there were too many flies as well.

We were shown a super narrow staircase (without a railing) to go upstairs. The staircase is so narrow that only one person can move at a time. It was steep as well.

Upstairs area was very clean. It had three tables & 4 chairs each

As we sat, a boy came & asked what we wanted. There was no menu card on this floor , there was no menu board on the wall.

We asked him for the options – he said veg thali & mutton biryani. I asked ‘only this’? He nodded. I said ‘rest of items written downstairs for dinner?’ He nodded.

So we ordered a thali & a mutton biryani.

Later while making payment downstairs I asked another boy – what time onwards fo you serve these other dishes – chettinad chicken, mutton curry etc. he said ‘it’s available now’. I said but that guy did not tell us. I got a blank look in reply.

While waiting we also noticed that guests in other tables were having the biryani. So it seems that’s the signature dish.

As we waited for the biryani, two steel mugs were placed on our table – one with sambar & the other with rasam.

Food was mixed – the subzis in the thali were bad, the dal was good & the biryani was very good.

Detailed description – in case u hv the time to njoy reading:

Veg thali had rice, dal, two subzis, sambar, rasam.

The thali was served on a banana leaf placed atop a stainless steel plate.

The dal was thick, flavorful & very good to taste. Rate it 4/5

The subzis were both very far from being what I remember at karaikudi.

Pumpkin, beans, onion Subzi had basic issues in balance of taste. It cud have been a great subzi but ended up being just ok due to execution challenges I guess. Rate it 2.5/5

The bottle gourd (lauki) subzi with grated coconut was over commercialised, somewhat delhized & shortcuts done. It was bad. With those ingredients it cud hv been a great subzi but !!!! Rate it 1/5

Sambar was very nice. It had good amount of vegetables in it. Rate it 4/5

Rasam was good too. A bit more hot (chilly) than what I have had at most places. Rate it 3/5

Overall rating of the thali averages out to 2.9/5

The biryani was really very good. Not the best I have ever had but better than I wud have expected in delhi.

The quantity was huge. It Looked like a mini mountain when it arrived on the table.

A boiled egg came along.

The meat pieces were very big, soft, flavorful & very good.

The rice was spiced well & it incorporated the flavors of meat too. The rice was moist & they stick to each other. The rice was soft & had the right bite.

Rate the biryani 4.25/5

Overall rating of food at Amma mess averages out to 3.6/5

Might return to eat the biryani again. Curious to eat the chettinad chicken some day.