Who invented butter chicken and dal makhani?

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, January 20

Who invented ‘butter chicken’ and ‘dal makhani’ — Moti Mahal restaurant or Daryaganj restaurant? The two restaurant chains are battling it out in the Delhi High Court, which has been confronted with a rather unusual question regarding the use of the tagline — ‘Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani’.

Moti Mahal has dragged the owners of Daryaganj restaurant to the High Court over the use of the tagline, alleging the latter misled the public by suggesting a connection between the two establishments.

On January 16, Justice Sanjeev Narula issued summons on Moti Mahal’s suit and asked Daryaganj restaurant to respond in 30 days and posted the matter for framing of issues on May 29, the day it will also take up the plaintiff’s application for interim injunction.

Interestingly, both Moti Mahal and Daryaganj claim to have invented ‘butter chicken’ and ‘dal makhani’. Moti Mahal owners claimed that it was their predecessor late Kundal Lal Gujral who came up with the dishes while Daryaganj owners attributed these to late Kundan Lal Jaggi.

On behalf of the plaintiffs, senior counsel Sandeep Sethi alleged that the defendants manipulated the photograph of the Moti Mahal Restaurant in Peshawar, Pakistan, on their website, substantiating his claim with a comparison to the ‘original’ photograph shown at Plaintiffs’ own website. Senior counsel Amit Sibal, representing the defendants, vehemently disputed Sethi’s contentions, saying the entire suit was “misconceived, baseless and lacking a cause of action”.

Regarding the photograph of the Moti Mahal restaurant in Peshawar, Sibal argued that the said restaurant was established jointly by predecessors of both the parties and the defendants were equally entitled to use the photograph in question.

However, without conceding to any of the plaintiffs’ claims, Sibal said the defendants would remove the disputed photograph from their website within one week to alleviate the plaintiffs’ concerns.

2 Delhi restaurants in legal battle

• Moti Mahal and Daryaganj Hospitality Pvt Ltd, two restaurant chains in Delhi, claim to have invented popular dishes ‘butter chicken’ and ‘dal makhani’ and are battling it out in court
• Moti Mahal owners claim it was their predecessor late Kundal Lal Gujral who came up with the dishes, while Daryaganj Hospitality Pvt Ltd owners attribute these to late Kundan Lal Jaggi