The Naga is often described as the world’s hottest chilli, writes Matthew Knowles.

So when the opportunity arose to have a curry made with one, my fire eating tendencies came to the fore.

At Chutney’s in Shirley, the Bangladeshi staff are such great enthusiasts of this awesome chilli pepper they even eat it raw alongside a hot curry.

The restaurant has recently relaunched with a new menu and stylish interior and carries a number of special dishes alongside the standard kormas, madras’s and bhunas.

Dishes like Jalapeno chicken (£6.95), a hot and tangy curry with tamarind sauce, Xacuti lamb (£7.95) with fennel seeds, cloves garlic and ginger, and Lamb uri gatha (£6.95) with runner beans and herbs and spices are just a few of the unusual curries I have not seen on other menus.

I started with their version of lamb chops (£4.50) which were beautifully crisp and spicy and a new dish of chicken tikka puri, similar to the prawn version wrapped in a crispy pancake.

The curry that called out to me was the Lamb Tikka Naga (£6.95). A fiery but ultimately great curry which had some extra Naga added raw at the end by my friendly waiter. Not as eye burningly and ultimately unedibly hot as previous phall’s I have endured, but it certainly induced an upper lip sweat and the use of my napkin on more than one occasion. It’s not for the faint of heart but for heat lovers it’s a must try.

My partner in crime opted for a much more girly but no less tasty Chicken Dakeshwari (£7.95), whole chicken breast cooked in a mango pulp.

Fluffy pilau rice and a peshwari nan and a bottle of rose complemented everything nicely.

A selection of ice creams and frozen cakes with classic kulfi and rice pudding made a refreshing end to a wonderful authentic and different Indian meal.

Chutney’s 244 Wickham Road Shirley Tel: 020 8655 3757