Butter chicken has long been a popular dish both domestically and internationally. Serve this dish with steaming white rice or naan. It's golden, succulent morsels of chicken cooked in a bright, zesty, and silky tomato and cream sauce.
The opulent dish is currently at the center of a contentious legal dispute between two eateries in New Delhi, the capital of India.
The restaurant owners are currently arguing in court over the origins of this dish, which goes back to the time before the subcontinent was divided into Pakistan and India. Both eateries assert that they are the original creators of the cherished dish.
The (disputed) origins of butter chicken Kundan Lal Gujral initially picked up cooking in a Peshawar, Pakistan-based shop that sold candies and sherbet.Amidst the disorderly division of the subcontinent into Pakistan and India in 1947, Gujral relocated to Delhi and established the first Moti Mahal eatery there.
A somewhat distinguished group of people attended the restaurant, including Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, Maulana Azad, the first minister of education, former US President Richard Nixon, and former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Later, Gujral made the decision to collaborate with his cousin Kundan Lal Jaggi, which would cause the butter chicken fight decades later. To honor Jaggi's culinary legacy, his descendants launched Daryaganj, a restaurant, in Delhi in 2019.
The Kundan Lals' war against Moti Mahal in Daryaganj
There is currently animosity between the two eateries, and the intense dispute between the two families has resulted in a 2,752-page lawsuit that Moti Mahal filed, claiming that Daryaganj, its rival restaurant, is claiming bogus credit for creating butter chicken. On January 16, the matter was heard for the first time.
Additionally, Daryaganj has been accused by Moti Mahal of claiming to be the creator of the creamy, slow-cooked black lentil dish known as dal makhi.
The catchphrase of Daryaganj, which was trademarked in 2018, was "By the inventors of butter chicken and dal makhani," according to local media.
However, Manish Gujral, the current owner of Moti Mahal, asserts that he has provided proof in the form of documents proving his grandpa Kundan Lal Gujral was the real creator of the dishes.
Gujral claims that his grandpa invented butter chicken by moistening leftover chicken pieces with a thick gravy made from tomatoes.Raghav Jaggi, Jaggi's grandson, relates a narrative that is similar but adds the second Kundan Lal. Raghav Jaggi tells the story of how his grandfather made a quick gravy out of the few bits of leftover tandoori chicken to make a heartier supper.
The Daryaganj family also contends that the dish was invented in 1947 when the late Jaggi opened Moti Mahal in collaboration with Gujral. Daryaganj contends that it is entitled to this credit for creating the dish.
Moti Mahal is suing for unfair competition and copyright infringement, claiming damages of 20 million rupees ($240,000).
The eatery further requests that the court prevent Daryaganj from asserting that its ancestors invented daal makhani and butter chicken.
Food production is becoming "a very entrepreneurial space," according to Tulasi Srinivas, an anthropology professor at Emerson College in Boston and author of books on South Asian food traditions and gastronomy, which may have contributed to Moti Mahal's relocation.
She talked about the importance of uniqueness in a market where quick-service restaurants can generate enormous revenues. It translates into actual money if you wish to assert that you are the original developer of anything.
"You do realize that not all bubbly wines are champagne?"
Srinivas's mother, a well-known cookbook author and scholar, gave her a passion for cooking.
Growing up in Delhi, Srinivas occasionally accompanied her parents on their visits to Moti Mahal. Moti Mahal is a "middle-class luxury restaurant, famous for its smokey tandoori flavours," according to Srinivas.Srinivas continued, "When it comes to inherited knowledge within the same families, feuds over food frequently arise." "It is often the case that restaurant families share recipes, leading each branch to claim ownership."
Food: delicious and contentious
There have been previous disagreements about who created a dish in South Asia or elsewhere.
In 2018, a food war erupted between two kebab shops competing for the moniker "Tunday Kababi," which was heard by the Delhi High Court. The famous rasgulla, a dessert created with curdled milk and dipped in sugar syrup, is the property of both the states of Odisha and West Bengal.
Kimchi, a fermented cabbage dish that has long been a mainstay of Korean cuisine, was claimed by China in 2020, sparking a social media spat between South Korean and Chinese users.
Jollof rice, a staple of West Africa made of long rice cooked with tomatoes, onions, and spices, is claimed by Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria.
What comes next?
Before submitting their response, the proprietors of Daryaganj are reviewing the petition. The following court date is May 29. In India, the resolution of judicial cases can take several months or even years. The case will marinate until then.
According to Srinivas, the outcome of a court case is never certain and is contingent upon the caliber of the evidence presented as well as the attorneys involved. It's uncertain how solid the documentation evidence is, despite Moti Mahal's claims to the contrary.
But looking ahead, she predicts: "We will see more litigation around family recipes as Indian restaurants go global." It will become more common to ask who owns a recipe or food manufacturing technique.
According to Srinivas, the situation is exacerbated by the emergence of social media influencers who post short videos on platforms like TikTok disclosing family recipes. "Content can become diluted if it is shared so quickly and widely on that platform," the speaker stated. She also hinted that in the future, businesses will file legal claims to establish their ownership of intellectual property.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES AND AL JAZEERA
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