If, like me, you are a fan of south Indian cuisine but also love trying something new, head for Sri Ganesh on Kingston Road, Ewell where the owner has set out to offer new variations on Indian food as well as everyone’s favourite traditional dishes.

I went along with a friend on Friday evening to find out more about what the restaurant has to offer where we were warmly welcomed by the owner, Govindarajan Swamimathan (or Govind as he is known by the customers).

He explained he wants to offer customers dishes he would eat at home.

“This is more authentic,” he says. “We still offer tikka and korma dishes but I also want to promote my own specialities.”

A quick glance at the menu will show you what he means. The special vegetarian starters include the mini masala dosai (£2.50), a south Indian pancake made with rice and black gram flour filled with potato masala and served with sambar and chutnies.

Try the iddly (£2.95) – steamed cake made with rice and black gram and served with sambar and chutnies. Another starter I had not seen before was the medhu vadai (£2.50) – a doughnut made from black gram, ginger, onions and green chillies. It has a soft centre, crunchy exterior and is served with chutney.

After reading through the extensive menu my friend and I decided to stay safe and share one dish we knew we liked and another more authentic dish we had not tried before.

We began with poppadoms and gram flour patties served with chutnies. We also tried the mini masala dosai, a luscious south Indian pancake filled with spiced potato masala and served with sambar (vegetable curry) and chutney (£3.95).

For the main course we chose a tender chicken chettinadu curry (£6.50) and a King fish curry which had a spicy kick to it (£7.50). We shared a malabar paratha, a “tear and share” light pastry which we used to mop up the thick curry sauce.

This was accompanied by a fluffy pilau rice (£2.25), mixed vegetables (£2.95) and carrot poriyal (£2.95). The crunchy vegetables were perfectly sautéed with coconut, onion, mustard seeds and herbs.

However, the real highlight was the delicious peppered lamb, containing 15 different spices (£6.50) – it was far removed from the usual, everyday curry and gave me a taste of something unique and it is something I shall definitely be going back for sometime soon! We chose a delicious Cobra beer to accompany the meal – perfect!

On Sundays the restaurant serves a special South Indian Thali from noon until 3pm. And to celebrate Valentine’s Day it has created a special menu priced £15.95 per person. The price includes a free bottle of house wine per couple.

• Click here to read the menu