A GOOD curry is a thing of beauty and people who don’t appreciate that are, in my opinion, unqualified to eat it.

Being somewhat of a curry connoisseur I have eaten at the top restaurants across the country, worked my way along London’s famous curry mecca of Brick Lane and had a cameo appearance cooking at an award-winning eatery.

My lust for curry has even taken me to India.

With this in mind it will not surprise people to realise the first thing I do when I get to a new town is to search out a handful of key curry haunts.

In Hampshire I have a trio of favourites – or the Holy Trinity as I like to think of them.

However, this week I found another when I had a sensational meal at Saffron Indian Cuisine in the heart of Eastleigh.

The mixed platter with chicken tikka, lamb seekh kebab, vegetable samosa and onion bhaji was delicious with each key ingredient perfectly cooked and seasoned and supplied in generous servings.

One of the first things I noticed when selecting a main course is that Saffron’s menu contained several dishes I had never come across in other curry houses.

Sharing four dishes with friends I tried the Bengal Chilli Chicken, which is chicken tikka with garlic, green chilli and coriander sauce that has a slow burning heat rather like the intensity of a madras.

The green chicken curry was new to my palate but enjoyable despite containing coconut milk which often renders a curry too sweet for my tastes.

The gost lal mirchi was tender cooked lamb with red chillies, coriander and peppers.

This was delicious and the lamb so succulent it fell apart under the pressure of a fork.

My favourite dish though has to be the flavoursome Saffroni Murgh where the chicken is cooked on the bone, filleted and cooked with onions, pepper, garlic and sweet chilli sauce.

We had additional servings of popadom, rice and nan bread, which were all of a high quality.

However, I have found Bombay potatoes is a dish that can usually give you the measure of the eatery and the one I had at the Saffron was among the best I have ever tasted.

Far too full to have a dessert I was cajoled into trying a house speciality – chocolate samosas.

This was another treat and one the restaurant is evidently proud of – a must try dish for new customers.

Saffron Indian Cuisine Eastleigh 023 8061 2743