Indian restaurants in Delhi who both claim to have invented butter chicken and dal makhani embroiled in £190,000 legal battle

The family behind Moti Mahal say their ancestor made the dish in 1930s PeshwarREAD MORE:  Savvy British tourists are stocking up on half-price groceries at French supermarkets

Butter chicken is one of the most popular Indian dishes globally with millions of Brits regularly tucking in to the tandoori chicken mixed in a deliciously creamy spiced tomato gravy.

But the the dish, also known as murgh makhani, has become the subject of a gritty court case as two duelling restaurants are both claiming to have invented it.

It is a story that dates back a century to pre-independence India and a furious feud between families.

The lawsuit – which has become a hot topic in India – was brought by the family behind Moti Mahal, a famed Delhi restaurant brand that has counted late US President Richard Nixon and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru among its guests.

The lawsuit – which has become a hot topic in India – was brought by the family behind Moti Mahal, a famed Delhi restaurant brand that has counted late US President Richard Nixon and India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru among its guests. Monish Gujral, the owner of Moti Mahal is pictured

In a 2,752-page court filing it has sued rival chain Daryaganj, accusing it of falsely claiming to have invented the dish as well as dal makhani, a popular lentil dish cooked in a similar fashion. The restaurant is pictured

The dish is one of India’s most famous exports and is enjoyed all over the world

It claims restaurant founder, Kundan Lal Gujral, created the curry in the 1930s when the restaurant first opened in Peshawar before it moved to Delhi.

In a 2,752-page court filing it has sued rival chain Daryaganj, accusing it of falsely claiming to have invented the dish as well as dal makhani, a popular lentil dish cooked in a similar fashion.

The Gujral family is seeking 20 million rupees (£190,180) in damages, also alleging that Daryaganj has copied the layout of Moti Mahal’s website and ‘the look and feel’ of its restaurants.

‘You cannot take away somebody’s legacy…

‘The dish was invented when our grandfather was in Pakistan,’ said Monish Gujral, managing director at Moti Mahal said.

The owners of Daryaganj – which opened  in 2019 – claim that a late family member, Kundan Lal Jaggi, had partnered with Gujral to open the Delhi restaurant in 1947, and the dish was invented there.

The dispute has captured the nation’s attention with Indian TV broadcasters running segments on the history of the dish and debate raging on social media.

‘It’s an offbeat, unique case. You really don’t know who created the first dish of butter chicken.

‘The court will be hard pressed and will need to rely on circumstantial evidence,’ said Ameet Datta, an intellectual property lawyer at India’s Saikrishna & Associates.

Testimonies of people who can link the brand to the dish they consumed decades ago could be critical proof, Datta added.

The Gujral family is seeking 20 million rupees (£190,180) in damages, also alleging that Daryaganj has copied the layout of Moti Mahal’s website and ‘the look and feel’ of its restaurants. A Moti Mahal waiter is pictured

The dispute has captured the nation’s attention with Indian TV broadcasters running segments on the history of the dish and debate raging on social media

Guests eat at Moti Mahalin New Delhi

Made with tandoor-cooked chicken pieces mixed in a tomato gravy with dollops of cream and butter, the dish was ranked 43rd in a list of world’s ‘best dishes’ by TasteAtlas as rated by nearly 400,000 users.

It was the second-ranked Indian food after butter garlic naan bread. The two are often paired together.

The case was first heard by the Delhi High Court last week and the next hearing is scheduled for May.

Daryaganj’s owners said they were studying the petition before filing their reply.

‘It’s a well-documented fact globally that we are the inventors of butter chicken and dal makhani,’ Monish, 57, told AFP on a busy afternoon at one of his outlets in Delhi.

‘We are not claiming that you can’t serve butter chicken in your restaurant,’ Monish added.

‘But don’t say you invented the dish. I would not allow anyone to take our legacy away.’

Monish Gujral, the owner of Moti Mahal, prepares butter chicken at his restaurant

Jewellery designer Rubina Kapoor (pictured) travelled from London to Delhi to eat the dish

According to Monish, his grandfather Kundan Lal Gujral learned to cook in a sweet and sherbet shop in Peshawar, in today’s Pakistan, before opening a restaurant in 1920.

He experimented with various dishes, including, according to Moti Mahal, adding a creamy sauce to ‘bits of tandoori chicken that were in danger of drying out’.

In 1947, in the chaos as the subcontinent was partitioned between India and Pakistan, Kundan Lal Gujral left for Delhi.

There, the dramatically mustachioed chef opened the first Moti Mahal restaurant and built it into a culinary institution.

Regular customers included former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru – always greeted with a traditional cardamom garland – and independence activist Maulana Azad.

Regular customers included former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru – always greeted with a traditional cardamom garland – and independence activist Maulana Azad. A waiter is pictured serving guests

Monish Gujral, the owner of Moti Mahal says he has historical pictures and has been in business more than 100 years

Other guests have reportedly included former US president Richard Nixon and former first lady Jackie Kennedy.

But it was Kundan Lal Gujral’s appointment of his cousin Kundan Lal Jaggi as a partner that would lead to acrimony decades later.

The latter’s heirs – who would later found the Daryaganj chain – insist it was he who invented butter chicken in 1947 to serve a table of customers who turned up just as the kitchen was closing.

As Daryaganj tells the story, Jaggi had only a few pieces of tandoori chicken left, so one diner suggested he add a gravy ‘so that everyone could have a hearty meal’.

Monish insists his rivals just ripped off his family’s story.

‘We have been in the business for 100 years,’ he said, showing black and white photos of dignitaries on the restaurant’s walls.

‘They have copied our feel and look.’

This is not the first row over the origins of a well-known dish in India.

In 2018, the Delhi High Court dealt a blow to copycat claimants of a popular kebab dish called ‘Tunday Kababi’.

And the states of Odisha and West Bengal both lay claim to rasgulla, a syrup-soaked cheese ball dessert.

Globally, there have been fights over kimchi – a pungent pickled cabbage – to hummus, biryani, jollof rice and chicken Kiev.

But for diners like Rubina Kapoor, it doesn’t make a difference who invented the dish.

‘I have travelled all the way from London to eat butter chicken here,’ the jewellery designer said, scooping up a spoonful of the creamy gravy at Moti Mahal.

‘For me butter chicken is love, it’s childhood memories. Nothing else matters.’