Crime, property or legal disputes are usually seen in Indian courts, but when a dispute is related to the legacy of a famous dish, then the matter becomes interesting. This controversy is about the history of ‘butter chicken’ which has become established in the Indian language. Usually, property matters between two families reach the court, but the story we are going to tell here is about the legacy of this butter chicken, due to which two families reached the court.

In fact, regarding India’s most favorite dish, butter chicken, two families claim that this dish was invented by their ancestors. In such a situation, this butter chicken has become a major reason for legal battle between two families. In such a situation, let us tell you today how the dispute over butter chicken recipe reached the court and how the taste of butter chicken is related to the partition of the country.

How is butter chicken made?

To make butter chicken for 5 to 6 people, about 1 kg chicken, tomato, butter, curd, mustard oil, green chilli, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, mace, kasuri methi, garam masala, red chilli, lemon juice, salt and ginger-garlic paste are used. To make this, chicken is marinated well with spices and roasted in tandoor or microwave. Then the spices like tomato, ginger, garlic and fine spices are fried in butter and oil. Lastly, roasted chicken is added to it and cooked for 15 minutes and served after adding cardamom and cream on top.

Why did this controversy start?

Two famous restaurant chains of Delhi, Moti Mahal and Daryaganj, are making claims against each other regarding the real inventor of this recipe. Moti Mahal says that Kundanlal Gujral invented the butter chicken dish in the 1930s. Daryaganj claims that the real father of butter chicken was its founder Kundanlal Jaggi. In 2023, Moti Mahal had filed a lawsuit against the owner of Daryaganj after a claim made by him in an episode of Shark Tank India, after which the dispute came to the fore openly.

What about Moti Mahal?

The Moti Mahal family says that when India was not divided, there was Mokha Singh Lamba’s Dhaba in Gora Bazaar of Peshawar, where Kundan Gujral was the chef. It was here that he prepared butter chicken for the first time by cooking tandoori chicken in tomato, butter and cream gravy. After independence, when Gujral came to Delhi, he opened Moti Mahal here and popularized this dish. He also says that Kundan Lal Jaggi was only his partner in the restaurant.

Daryaganj What does medicine do?

According to Daryaganj, in this dhaba of Peshawar, not Gujral but Jaggi had made the recipe of butter chicken. He says that even in Moti Mahal, he used to make Butter Chicken Jaggi and Gujral looked after the marketing. For this reason he calls it his family heritage.

Where did butter chicken come from, what does history say?

According to historians, butter chicken originated in Peshawar in the 1930s, where it was called Murgi Makhani. While making tandoori chicken, one day a chef put the leftover chicken in tomato and butter gravy, after which he liked its taste so much that it was added to the menu from the next day and it became famous. After the partition of the country, Murgi Makhani gradually became famous by the name of Butter Chicken and today it has become the most favorite dish in both India and Pakistan. However, the matter of who is the real owner of Butter Chicken is still pending in the court.

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