If I go out for an Indian meal I like to have a something I have never tried before, writes Matthew Knowles.

I am bored with chicken tikka massala, madras and kormas, I crave excitement and a trip to the unknown.

Which is why the menu in Chutney's, a stylish restaurant in Shirley, was a pleasant surprise.

For the classic curry fans it has what you would expect - popadoms, tikka and sag aloo, but for those willing to venture a little further off-piste it provides a different experience.

There are some things you never change so I started with a healthy dose of popadom's and pickles. For starters I went for the king prawn puri (£4.95) a spicy prawn bhuna curry enveloped in a crispy puffed bread, a combination between an Indian calzone and a Findus crispy pancake. My companion went further and tried the duck tikka (£4.95), something I have not seen before. Cooked in a clay oven it was wonderfully smoky and had a real bite to it.

For mains my companion stuck to the traditional with a spicy twist by ordering a garlic chicken tikka chilli (£7.95) which does what it says on the tin and combines all the favourite parts of Indian cuisine in one mouth-watering dish. My choice was a Nepali dish, all the way from the mountains of Nepal. Gorkhali chicken (£7.95) comes in a chilli sauce with fresh ginger, red pepper, finely chopped tomato and onion with cumin seeds, turmeric sauce and mustard oil, finished off with fresh chilli and spring onions. It's the kind of stuff that Ghurkhas enjoy and it had a very pleasant spice which exploded in my mouth when I bit into one of the tiny green chillies they cook it with.

Accompanied by fluffy mushroom rice (£2.50) and a fiery garlic and chilli nan (£2.25) to add extra spiciness, it was a well cooked meal with great flavours.

Chutney's staffed mainly by Bangladeshi’s is a relatively undiscovered restaurant which also offers takeaway all week. For lovers of fresh and exciting Indian food from across the country it's definitely worth a try. And they serve the mind blowing naga chilli which is a definite bonus Chutneys Shirley 244 Wickham road Shirley Croydon CR0 8BJ 02086553757