Have you ever considered emigrating to India? Perhaps not, but if all food on the sub-continent were as exquisite as that at Kasturi, there could be a mass exodus from good old Blighty.

The Venue
With a tiny frontage, Kasturi snuggles up against its neighbours on the busy Aldgate High Street. The elegant interior opens up before you, cool and welcoming, an oasis of calm in the bustling City. There is plenty of room between the immaculately set tables to allow the wait staff easy movement and you to relax and enjoy yourself.

The Atmosphere
Since it first opened its doors in 2002, Kasturi has earned itself a well-deserved reputation for authentic cuisine, so it's unsurprising that the restaurant is busy. The clientele is varied, but everyone looks happy to be here.

The Food
Once you taste the food, you’ll know why. In its comparatively short tenure, Kasturi has been ranked among the top 30 best restaurants in the UK by the British Curry Awards. It prides itself on healthy eating - not something you might associate with Indian cuisine. But there's none of the violently coloured oil left behind on the plates — come to think of it, there’s not much of anything left on the plates.

To get the most out of your Kasturi experience, try the Kebab-ke-Karishma (£14.95). It is recommended as a starter for two and includes tasty little morsels of lamb and chicken, cooked in various ways with different spices. It is served with a vibrant sauce of mint, coriander, dill, apples and grapes, which will convince even the biggest climate-change sceptic to go green. It’s fabulous with lamb but, to be honest, it would be fabulous with just about anything. It even goes beautifully with the restaurant’s salmon tikka, a succulent masterpiece of culinary judgement.

Continue the theme of trying a bit of everything with the mains and order the Thali Royal (£11.95), several dishes of chicken, lamb, vegetables, pilau rice and naan. This is a traditional way to eat Indian food and you will be asked how hot — or not — you like your food. So you might sample chicken in a fragrant coconut sauce, which is light, and the chicken so tender it flakes almost like fish. Lamb has plenty of heat, but you can still taste the meat, and crispy okra is light and crunchy without being greasy. Flavourful black lentils (a speciality from Pakistan) are earthy and smoky and a perfect foil for almost any sauce. Be greedy and ask for the lamb cooked with ginger, as this dish is too good to miss. The lamb leg steaks are blissfully tender, falling away like butter from the knife, and the background zing of ginger complements them perfectly.

An Indian 'special fried rice' dish is also worth a try, although the pilau with the thali is so perfectly judged that it’s unlikely you’ll need it. It’s also unlikely that you will need — or have room for — a pudding, but the gulap jamun, a traditional Indian dessert rather like a warm doughnut, is superb.

The Drink
If beer is your thing, Kasturi offers both Kingfisher and Cobra, the latter in both 330ml and 660ml (£2.75 or £5.10) sizes. Otherwise, there are two white and two red house wines, all of which are £16.95 a bottle or £3.95 for a 175ml glass. A Chilean chardonnay is zippy enough to go well with spicy food, with just a hint of oak, and the red equivalent is a cabernet sauvignon/merlot blend. But the most expensive wines on the list are a Saint Emilion Grand Cru at £31.95 and a Chablis at £26.95, while Veuve Clicquot is £39.95, so it would be tempting to match excellent wines with the excellent food. Luckily, if you overindulge, Aldgate tube is but a short stagger.

The Last Word
Kasturi’s cuisine is outstanding and even those who dislike curry will be convinced. How much does it cost to fly to India, again?

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