Kundan Lal Gujral – Receiving IATO award for inventing Tandoori Chicken and Butter Chicken by Former Hon`ble Minister of Civil Aviation and Tourism Mr. Ashok Gehlot
“Monish Gujral Founder of Motimahal Delux and Grandson of Kundan Lal Gujral addressing a press conference on the occasion of centenary celebrations of Motimahal`s culinary journey ”
Motimahal is an iconic name in the Hospitality Industry .It all began as an humble eatery in Peshawer(Undivided India) in 1920 when a young chef Kundan Lal Gujral introduced Tandoori Chicken to the world , which the world had never tasted earlier . Subsequently , Kundan Lal Gujral , invented the makhani sauce (The butter filled delight) to make the drying chicken tikkas, hanging by the tandoor succulent again and the Famous Butter Chicken was born .The homely, Black Urad Dal (Lentil) also found its new Avatar when mixed with the magical butter gravy and was transformed into the Modern Dal Royal Makhnai Dal .
The following introduction from the Motimahal Cook Book authored by Monish Gujral ,beautifully sums up the Culinary Journey of Kundan Lal Gujral –
The legend, The Man, The Punjabi-Pathan – Shri. Kundan Lal Gujral
“This is the story of a man who set on a culinary adventure and changed the face of Indian
cooking. This is a story of a man and a recipe which internationalized the Indian taste of
succulence and spice in its food. A man who turned the plebeian village tandoor for baking into a
royal mode for his innovation – “The Tandoori Chicken” and then came the Butter chicken.
The result: a revolution in taste, a change in Indian eating habits, and a place on the international
gourmet map. This man was Kundan Lal Gujral. The restaurant where he housed his innovations
was Moti Mahal-“The Palace of Pearls”. The two became a legendary mix.
Kundan Lal not only made Tandoori cuisine popular throughout India but also strengthened the
appeal of Indian food in many parts of the world. The Tandoori Chicken has become a draw card
for Indian tourism. What more convincing words can be said, as were said by our very own
Maulana Azad, former education Minister, who said to Shah of Iran on one of his state
visits that, “coming to Delhi without eating at Moti Mahal would be like visiting Agra
without seeing Taj Mahal.
– Uma Vasudeva (First Editor, India Today)
In 1970s Motimahal , yet saw its new modern avtar founder by Kundan Lal Gujrals Son Nand Lal Gujral who opened the first Motimahal Delux in South Delhi and expanded to Delhi NCR and Uttarakhand.
Monish Gujral ,Grandson of Kundan Lal Gujral and son of Nand Lal Gujral ,set up on a super expansion mode in 1999 .Trained under his Grandfather, he became a hand on chef at a young age of 17. Thereafter, upon completing his business studies and hotel management, he took upon himself to make the Motimahal Delux chain a fastest growing and a largest chain of Indian Restaurants
Moti Mahal Delux Management Services Private Limited:
MMDMS is a private listed company limited by shares set up
in 2003 by Monish Gujral, the grandson of Shri Kundan Lal
Gujral.
The company was set up with the objective of expanding the
Moti Mahal brand globally into a franchisor-franchisee
system. Over the years, the company has shown exponential
growth and it has grown from 7 stand-alone restaurants to
150plus franchises and company-owned chain of
restaurants across the world.
The company has successfully launched and run other
brands namely: Kebab Trail, China Trail, Dosa Trail, Chaat
Trail, Golden Oven, Lounge By Nite, DNY Bread-bar, Food
Truck Trail. The company also manages several hotels and
provides an effective F&B solution for the hotel segment.
Some of our most successful hotels are based in Uttar
Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.
Additionally, the company has established a successful parallel
source of revenue through the means of manufacturing and exporting
unit for Kitchen equipment, furniture & fixtures, printing & stationery.
Today, Moti Mahal is synonymous with authentic Mughlai Indian food.
Moreover, it is a global brand with its footprints in every major city
across India, Middle East, New Zealand, Australia, UK and USA. The
brand is also registered and trade-marked in China, Japan, Hong
Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Lebanon, GCC countries, Turkey and
several more.
