'Butter chicken battle': Peshawar residents recall Moti Mahal, not the contested dish

Islamabad: Adding a new ingredient to the sizzling legal stew as two Delhi restaurants fight it out over who "invented" butter chicken, old-time Peshawar residents have fond recollections of the erstwhile Moti Mahal restaurant in the city but do not recall the now-iconic dish being on the bill of fare.

Both Moti Mahal and Daryaganj restaurant chains, which began as establishments set up former partners Kundan Lal Gujral and Kundan Lal Jaggi in Delhi after the Partition and are now run by their descendants, claim ownership over the finger-licking dish. Escalating the matter to the courts, the former wants the latter to withdraw its claim and pay damages.

The story began in the early 20th century in Peshawar's Cantonment area, where the Moti Mahal Restaurant functioned from the first floor of a building at the bustling Fawara Chowk near Tipu Sultan Road, overlooking the Jalandhar Sweet House, according to Geo News.

The restaurant was founded by Kundan Lal Gujral, the founder of Moti Mahal in Delhi, in 1920, or was owned by Sikh businessman Mokah Singh Lamba and was his first place of work, as per different accounts. Jaggi also worked there subsequently.

Old Peshawar resident Mushtaq Khan told Geo TV that the restaurant, in its heyday, was known for its aromatic teas, crispy pakoras, cheesy delights, and tangy yoghurt-based snacks, though it was a bit high-end and was mostly frequented by the wealthy, including the British rulers.

The always-buzzing kitchen was located on the ground floor, and the place is now a clothing shop owned by Iqbal Arif, another old resident of Peshawar.

He said in its day, the upper floor of the Moti Mahal restaurant had a traditional tandoor, for the preparation of Peshawari naans and tandoori chicken was barbecued.

Arif told Geo that way back in the 1980s, he was told that Gujral had visited Peshawar and was seen "softly sobbing and reflecting on his erstwhile restaurant as he propped himself against a tree in front of the cloth shop" but was comforted by knowing the place was still cherished by people, who still missed the delicacies it had served.

He said that Gujral’s niece had also come from India for a "pilgrimage" to the site of her uncle’s eatery some 15 years ago.

While veteran Peshawar advocate Shakeel Chandra and former provincial minister Syed Aqil Shah have met Gujral at his Moti Mahal restaurant in Delhi and been regaled by his stories of its previous incarnation in their city, businessman Shahid Khan told Geo that he had never heard of Gujaral in relation to butter chicken, but now the issue is being discussed frequently due to the court case.

However, elderly Saddar Bazaar businessman Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor told Geo that Gujral assisted his father in his business for many years, and his father had often talked about the restaurant, which was a "royal retreat" for the high-profile guests and where the elite socialised over deluxe meals.

However, butter chicken was nowhere to be found on the menu in Peshawar’s Moti Mahal, Ghafoor disclosed, adding that Gujral innovated the epic recipe after moving to Delhi.

As Geo reached out to the litigants, Gujral's descendants insist that butter chicken was developed by him in Peshawar, but Jaggi's grandson contends that it was his grandfather who developed it in Delhi after Partition, though based on the culinary arts he learned in Peshawar.