Chicken dish war bubbles over

Things seem to heating up in Delhi, India, as two of the city’s best-known eateries sharpen their legal arguments to do battle in court over who has the right to claim to be the originator of “butter chicken”.

According to Monish Gujral, the owner of the Moti Mahal chain of restaurants, he had submitted documentary proof that his grandfather was the creator of butter chicken.

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Monish claims that his grandfather, Kundan Lal Gujral, learned to cook in a sweets and sherbet shop in Peshawar, in today’s Pakistan, before opening a restaurant in 1920 and later moving to India.

He experimented with various dishes, according to Monish, adding a creamy sauce to “bits of tandoori chicken that were in danger of drying out”.

Now, he claims, rivals Daryaganj are trying to claim credit for the recipe, which has become popular all over the world.

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He wants compensation of R4.5 million and a promise that Daryaganj won’t continue its claims. This is more than a simmer in a curry pan – honour is at stake here.

And who wouldn’t want credit for capturing the taste buds of billions? Come to think of it, couldn’t Pakistan claim national honours, given the dish’s origin?

That’s something to chew on…