For many diners around the world, the rich tomato-based butter chicken curry is a beloved staple of Indian cuisine. Yet the origins of this iconic dish are fiercely disputed by two families in Delhi, who have taken their rivalry to court in a high-stakes battle over culinary bragging rights.
In the tumultuous aftermath of partition in 1947, when the British colony of India was divided into the new nations of India and Pakistan, two men named Kundan fled the city of Peshawar to the Indian capital. There, they co-founded Moti Mahal, a restaurant that achieved legendary status for a heavenly dish combining tandoori chicken in a buttery tomato gravy.
Moti Mahal drew elite patrons like US President Richard Nixon and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy until its closure in 1992. However, the partnership dissolved, and each man's descendants now lay claim to creating the original butter chicken recipe.
The feud has escalated into a trademark lawsuit filed in the Delhi High Court. The upscale Daryaganj restaurant chain, established in 2019 by descendants of Kundan Lal Jaggi, is accused by the family behind a 1976 offshoot also called Moti Mahal of "misleading the public" over butter chicken's provenance.
"We told our team to imagine you're in 1947 and you don't have any of the blenders, the equipment, or anything to help you out," said Amit Bagga, Daryaganj's CEO as reported on NBC news, describing how the restaurant chops tomatoes by hand to recreate Jaggi's unique texture. According to Bagga, Jaggi improvised the buttery sauce to stretch a dwindling chicken supply one busy day.
The Gujral family, however, asserts that Kundan Lal Gujral invented butter chicken back in Peshawar before the move to Delhi by adding a buttery "makhani" sauce to leftover chicken to prevent it from drying out. Moti Mahal representatives declined to comment.
As the case awaits its next hearing in September, the legal battle has gripped the national conversation. "It's good publicity for us," Bagga admitted, as inquisitive customers flock to Daryaganj to judge the contested dish for themselves.
The saga offers a window into Delhi's rich culinary heritage shaped by the 1947 exodus of skilled Hindu tandoor masters fleeing religious violence in modern-day Pakistan. "It was these entrepreneurs who transformed the scene in the blink of an eye," said historian Rana Safvi.
While the dueling origin stories remain unresolved, butter chicken's creamy allure has endured across cultures. "It became very easy for anyone to eat, even for those who are not used to spicy food," Safvi explained of the curry's global popularity.
For first-time Daryaganj diner Satyam Kumar, 24, the identity of the true inventor is immaterial. As he savored the restaurant's rendition, he reflected, "But who invented it doesn't matter." In Delhi's raging butter chicken wars, the real winner is a dish beloved by many.
