A POPULAR food festival has returned to Hampshire.

More than 500 people from across the South flocked to Chandler's Ford on Sunday to try authentic Indian dishes.

The event held at Chandler's Ford Methodist Church was organised by the South of England Marathi Pariwar.

Pooja Patwardhan, from Chandler's Ford, was one of the organisers.

She said: "The aim of the organisation is to celebrate and share the culture of the western part of India, near Mumbai. When people in the UK think about Indian food they just think of chicken tikka masala but Indian food is very different and we wanted residents to have the chance to enjoy our cuisine."

She said the event, now in its fifth year, has proved a success once again.

"It has been very good. We are very fortunate we are living in a community where people respect different cultures,"she added.

Chandler's Ford resident Fiona Kelly, attended the event and said: "I always come, I love it. It is wonderful that it is in the community and open to everybody. Food is like a universal language."