The High Court of Delhi heard a case last week on who invented butter chicken after one restaurant chain sued another for allegedly taking the credit for the world famous dish.
Proprietors of restaurant chain Moti Mahal claimed before the court on January 16 that their predecessor Kundal Lal Gujral invented butter chicken and that Daryaganj is "misleading" people with their claim that their predecessor invented the dish.
According to applicant Rupa Gujral, her father-in-law began to make the dish in 1920 in Peshawar, now in Pakistan. He moved to Delhi and opened the first restaurant called Daryaganj in the neighbourhood of the same name.
“In and around 1948, Mr. Gujral also opened a hotel by the name Moti Mahal Hotel in Darya Ganj. By then, this restaurant’s tandoori specialities — which Mr. Gujral had learnt in Pakistan — had become a must on Prime Minister Nehru’s banquets, dinners, and meals for political meets,” the 2,700-page suit filed in the Delhi High Court claimed.
Refuting the claims of the Gujral family, the owners of Daryaganj say it was their predecessor Kundan Lal Jaggi who came up with the idea for butter chicken.
Senior advocate Amit Sibal claimed that the first Moti Mahal restaurant was jointly established in Peshawar by both Gujral and Jaggi.
Justice Sanjeev Narula issued a summons to the owners of Daryaganj asking them to file a written statement in response to the suit within a month, along with an affidavit of admission or denial of documents.
The court has listed the matter for further hearing on May 29.
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