The Fiery Court Case: It Could Settle the Debated Origins of Butter Chicken

The Fiery Court Case: A dish like butter chicken can get dicey when its origins are hard to pin down and up for debate. A creamy sauce of tomatoes, butter, and spices paired with marinated chicken is often referred to as chicken makhani. The dish uses more spices than chicken tikka masala, which originated in the UK. Due to the recent court case, this last fact is particularly relevant since butter chicken has become a symbol of Indian cuisine worldwide.

The Delhi restaurant Moti Mahal has filed a new lawsuit about the invention of butter chicken. Indian PMs and American Presidents have both served a dish that Kundan Lal Gujral created before relocating to Delhi in the 1930s. According to Daryaganj, a family member of the owners created butter chicken with Gujral in 1947 while working at Moti Mahal. Because of this, Moti Mahal is suing Daryaganj for $240,000 in damages over what they consider a false claim.

The Fiery Court Case: Indian history of butter chicken

Moti Mahal believes that Kundan Lal Gujral invented butter chicken in Peshawar, now in Pakistan. During the 1947 partition, Gujral opened Moti Mahal with Kundan Lal Jaggi and two partners. When tandoori chicken, another Indian dish, went to waste due to a lack of refrigeration, butter chicken evolved. Raghav Jaggi asserts that Gujral was merely an envoy while his relative prepared the butter chicken.

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The Indian diaspora opened restaurants all over the world, spreading it to every continent. Since the court case occurred so many years ago, direct testimony and evidence will be difficult to obtain. Because of the pride and stakes associated with creating a dish, the debate will probably not end.