ANYONE with a decent Indian restaurant less than a three-minute stumble from their front door is likely to have something of an affinity with the place.

I can certainly claim that to be the case with Sajniz, nestling just on the edge of Boscombe.

It's always amazed me, however, that the place is not heaving every time I've been there, either to eat in or for take away. You sure can't miss the dazzling purple and white sign as you drive up into Boscombe.

Airlift it into the middle of Charminster and I almost guarantee it would be the busiest and best Indian there.

It's bright, clean, ultra-friendly and that's before you even get to the food.

Although the takeaway option is always tempting, I'd recommend eating in if you've got the time.

Maybe its down to the staff dealing with fewer customers than the town-centre curry houses, but each visitor is given VIP treatment.

We were given the usual warm welcome when we arrived, had our coats hung up and were even asked if we wanted the heater near our table turned up or down!

Given plenty of time to peruse the menu with a couple of Kingfishers and some crunchy poppadoms (is there any finer way to start a meal?), we eventually decided on one classic and one special house dish.

Among the usual tempting selection of biriyanis, baltis and vindaloos, I went for the chicken bhuna, with its ever-persuasive combination of onions, tomatoes and peppers.

My eating buddy went off the beaten track with the lamb taal, an appealingly sweet offering.

The bhuna was right on the money - good, thick sauce, not too spicy, with identifiable chunks of tomato and pepper. Too often you wouldn't even know there is supposed to be veg in a bhuna.

It was the taal that stole the show though. Like a thicker, tangier masala, the sauce was like nothing I'd ever tasted in an Indian restaurant before - in fact, it almost reminded me of a Chinese dish!

The lamb was an inspired choice of meat too, often underestimated in curries, as its meatier presence really complemented the spicy sauce.

As a side dish, we chose a portion of chana aloo - chickpeas and potatoes - which was really nicely flavoured with coriander and garlic.

We also ordered a kulcha naan, which was laden with vegetables, and for a vegetarian might have made a meal in its own right.

The bill, including a few Kingfishers, came to £33.55.

And because it wasn't busy, we noticed we'd had a couple of poppadoms, some extra rice and some liqueurs given to us on the house.

Now that's service!