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Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani are now on the table of the Delhi High Court, even before the Bench gives its order. The Court has to decide who invented these iconic diseases, Moti Mahal or Daryaganj.
Both the Delhi-based restaurant chains claim they are the inventors. On its website, Moti Mahal introduces itself as ‘the legendary inventors of Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani.’ Daryaganj calls themselves as ‘the inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani.’ The family behind Moti Mahal moved the Court over the tagline of Daryaganj.
After hearing the arguments on January 16, a single judge Bench of Sanjeev Narula posted the matter for May 19, according to the order placed on the website of the Court.
The history
The website of Moti Mahal says, MotiMahal Daryaganj was established in 1947, six years after Tandoori Chicken was invented by Kundan Lal Gujral in Peshawar (now in Gujarat). “Kundan Lal is accredited with the creation of MotiMahal’s iconic dishes: The Tandoori Chicken, The Butter Chicken, The Dal Makhani and The Chicken Pakora,” it said. Giving some details about innovation about Tandoori Chicken, the website said Gujaral roasted the chicken in the mud-tandoor dug into the ground lit with coal and wood.
Talking about the Butter Chicken, it was said that when Kundan Lal began worrying about his cooked chickens drying out, he searched for a sauce with which he could rehydrate them. His solution was the ‘Makhani or Butter sauce’ and it led to the creation of the – ‘Butter Chicken’, made from bits of tandoori chicken that were in the danger of drying out. He invented the Dal Makhani out of a desire to create a shahi dal to go with the rich non-vegetarian food. For this, he took the black dal of his ancestors and added his Makhani sauce to it which was called the Butter Dal or the ‘Dal Makhani’.
Calling Kundan Lal Jaggi as inventor of Dal Makhani and Butter Chicken, website of Daryaganj also has story to narrate about these dishes. In 1947, acting on the suggestion from one of its regular diner at his restuarant, Jaggi decided to slow cook black lentils on the tandoor with tomatoes, fresh white butter, and his choice of herbs and spices. He left it to slow simmer overnight. The next morning, he discovered a luscious creamy dal. Customers wanted more and more of this delicious invention. As it was made with butter or “makhan”, Kundan Lal Jaggi named it ‘Dal Makhani’.
Talking about ‘Butter Chicken’, the website said this cuisine is an invention that arose out of sheer necessity. One fine night in 1947, when a group of hungry refugees arrived at the doorstep of his restaurant, eager to have their first meal of the day, the kitchen was nearly empty. Again acting on the advice of a diner, Jaggi created a gravy with tomatoes, fresh butter, and some spices. He then added pieces of cooked tandoori chicken to it, which is why the recipe is a dual recipe of tandoori chicken cooked first and then added to the makhani ‘butter’ gravy and thus Butter Chicken came into existence.
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