The owners of Moti Mahal sued the owner of a Daryaganj restaurant after she used the slogan “Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani”.
Justice Sanjeev Narula heard the case on January 16 after the restaurant owners in Daryaganj were served summons and directed to respond in writing to the plea within 30 days.
Additionally, Justice Narula took cognizance of Moti Mahal’s application for an interim injunction, which Bar and Bench reports scheduled for hearing on May 29.
The Daryaganj restaurant claims that Late Kundan Lal Jaggi was the one who created the concept, but the owners of Moti Mahal say that their predecessor, Late Kundal Lal Gujral, created dishes that are now synonymous with Indian cuisine around the world.
In their lawsuit, Moti Mahal claimed that their ancestor Gujral invented the first Tandoori Chicken, as well as Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani, which he then brought to India after the partition of the country.
They claimed that Gujral was initially concerned that his cooked chicken would dry out as unsold leftover chicken could not be kept in the fridge. As a result, he created a sauce to help him rehydrate them.
“The invention of Dal Makhani is closely related to the invention of butter chicken. [Gujaral] used the same black lentil recipe and around the same time he gave birth to Dal Makhani,” the lawsuit said, as cited by Bar and Bench.
“Baseless and without cause of action,” Daryaganj’s lawyers termed the suit when they appeared before the court on January 16.
They said that the original Moti Mahal restaurant in Peshawar was established by the forefathers of both parties (Jaggi of Daryaganj restaurants and Gujral of Moti Mahal restaurants).
