Fierce battle over butter chicken in India: who invented this popular dish?
A heated battle is unfolding in India. The subject: the globally popular dish butter chicken. Because who actually came up with the dish? Two restaurant chains claim to be the inventors of butter chicken and are fighting it out in an Indian court.
Butter chicken — or murgh makhani — is one of our favorite dishes from Indian cuisine. Buttery-soft chicken in a heavenly, spicy curry—who could resist? It has also been immensely popular in India itself for years. At some point, someone must have come up with the brilliant idea for butter chicken. Who was it? The Indian court will decide.
Possible inventor of butter chicken: Kundan Lal Gujral
There are two families battling for the title of “Inventor of butter chicken.” The first family is immediately the one that brought the case to court. It is the Gujral family. They run Moti Mahal restaurant, located in Delhi, India. The family claims that their grandfather, Kundan Lal Gujral, was the first person ever to make butter chicken. They say their grandfather came up with butter chicken after a trip through Pakistan. During that trip, he collected dozens of ingredients, which he then combined into the sauce now associated with butter chicken.
Possible inventor 2: Daryaganj restaurant
Daryaganj restaurant is a direct competitor of Moti Mahal restaurant. They claim that they, too, are the inventors of butter chicken. The restaurant owners say that an ancestor of theirs came up with the recipe together with Kundan Lal Gujral. Yep, the grandfather of the Gujral family. The Moti Mahal restaurant branch owned by the Gujral family was originally located in Pakistan. In 1947, the restaurant moved to Delhi. There, Kundan Lal Gujral is said to have worked together with a member of the Daryaganj family—and that is where butter chicken would have been invented. For that reason, Daryaganj considers itself just as much the inventor of butter chicken. Still following?
Major demands
All right, the Gujral family considers Daryaganj restaurant’s claim worthless, at any rate. They are demanding compensation equivalent to more than €220,000, as well as a correction from Daryaganj. That means Daryaganj must openly and officially admit that butter chicken was invented by Kundan Lal Gujral.
India is devouring the butter chicken battle. At least, people can remain on the edge of their seats for a while longer, because the verdict will probably take quite some time. The next hearing is scheduled for May this year. We are not going to wait for that and will continue making delicious butter chicken in the meantime. Our favorite recipe? It’s this buttery-soft Indian chicken. As far as we’re concerned, there is no need to fight over that.
Also read:
- This ingredient makes your Indian dishes taste authentic
- 6 super tips for when you want to make an Indian dish
- The three basic sauces of Indian cuisine
Sources: NU.nl and RTL Nieuws
