I wrote last week in Brunch about the battle over the invention of Butter Chicken. It is not surprising that the piece generated so much interest – Delhi is a Butter Chicken-crazy city. But I learned three things from the responses. First of all, we have done such a bad job of recording the history of Indian food that even people in the business were surprised to know that Butter Chicken was popularised as late as the 1950s in Delhi.

He never ventured into the kitchen as a child, so all those theories about getting your children to become future chefs by learning cooking early and smearing themselves with pancake and muffin dough, or even a plethora of masalas, seems to hold no water, at least in his case. In fact, Monish Gujral, CMD, Moti Mahal Delux, hated the thought of cooking for quite a long time. But when he turned 17, things changed. On orders from his lovable and

If the tandoori chicken and the butter chicken (and its European relative, the chicken tikka masala) are the most famous Indian dishes in the world never to be cooked in Indian home kitchens, then there must surely be a vegetarian candidate for the same category.    I think I have found it: it is the black dal so beloved of Indian restaurants in India and everywhere else in the world.    When it comes to black dal I have to come

I was in Bangkok last week and sought out my favourite Thai food: chicken and rice. The dish is related to the better known Hainanese Chicken Rice, which consists of slices of poached chicken with flavourful white rice, served with clear chicken soup and condiments. This dish, though theoretically a specialty from Hainan in China, can now be found all over the world (Singapore claims it as one of its national dishes) but the Thai version, Khao Man Gai, which

The Global chain of Moti Mahal Delux Tandoori Trail restaurants , famous for its authentic tandoori and mughlai cuisine today launched 5 variants of “Ready to Eat” packaged foods. With their extensive experience dating back to more than a decade in the Indian and international market, Moti Mahal Delux now introduces ready-to-eat North Indian vegetarian dishes pan India. . The new range that is introduced includes evergreen favourites like Dal, Butter Gravy, Veg Biriyani, Aloo Zeera and Pindi Chana. Moti

If the tandoori chicken and the butter chicken (and its European relative, the chicken tikka masala ) are the most famous Indian dishes in the world never to be cooked in Indian home kitchens, then there must surely be a vegetarian candidate for the same category. I think I have found it: it is the black dal so beloved of Indian restaurants in India and everywhere else in the world. When it comes to black dal I have to come

MONISH Gujral is to Delhi and the rest of India what Rahul Akerkar and Moshe Shek are to Bombay: a restaurateur-chef who can cook everything on the menu of his popular chain of Moti Mahal restaurants, a businessman, a food writer, and a gourmet. Moti Mahal was started by his grandfather, Kundan Lal Gujral, who came down to India from Peshawar after Independence and started a small restaurant in Delhi’s Daryaganj area. The next year, in 1948, Kundan Lal who

A hundred years have passed since Kundan Lal Gujral, a Punjabi-Pathan from Peshawar, introduced the iconic tandoori chicken and butter chicken to the world at the fabled Moti Mahal. But the coronavirus doesn’t care for legacy. Monish Gujral, the custodian of the Moti Mahal brand and the grandson of its doyen, is ruefully aware of this fact. Yet, every set-back offers possibilities. Gujral decided that centenary celebrations can wait. It was time to recalibrate the model instead. He decided to

A graduate from Delhi University, Monish Gujral studied hotel management at the Institute of Hotel Management, and catering and nutrition at Pusa, Delhi, before joining his illustrious grandfather, Kundan Lal Gujral, at his restaurant, Moti Mahal. Not only has Monish lived up to his grandfather’s expectations, but he has also expanded the brand and launched Moti Mahal Delux’s famed Tandoori Trail chain of restaurants with over hundred franchises across cities in India, and the globe. A prolific food writer, this

Kundan Lal Gujral (c.1902 – 1997) was an Indian chef and restaurateur. He invented several Indian dishes which have since become popular worldwide, including butter chicken,[2]tandoori chicken and dal makhani.[3][4][5][6] He was the founder of the restaurant chain Moti Mahal Delux.[7] Early life[edit] Kundan Lal Gujral was born in c.1902 to Diwan Chand Gujral and Maya Devi in Chakwal District of Undivided Punjab, British India.[8] His only brother Chunni Lal died at the age of 18 due to Pneumonia. His father was a cloth merchant. Kundan Lal Gujral completed his matriculation in India ( now Pakistan ). In c.1920 he

कौन बनेगा करोड़पति का बारहवां सीजन काफी लोकप्रिय हो रहा है. इसमें कई ऐसे सवाल पूछे गए, जो अच्छे-अच्छे जानकारों के पसीने छुड़ा दें. ऐसा ही एक सवाल खाने की लोकप्रिय डिशेज से जुड़ा हुआ रहा. उत्तर भारतीय रेस्त्रां और रसोई में भी बनने वाले व्यंजन दाल मखनी और बटर चिकन की खोज किसने की. इसके जनक थे पंजाबी शेफ कुंदन लाल गुजराल, जिन्होंने भारतीय जबान में ये बेहद लजीज स्वाद जोड़ दिए. सांकेतिक फोटो वर्तमान में एक फेमस रेस्त्रां

KBC Live (January 7, 2021): Which of these dishes is said to have been invented by Kundan Lal Gujral in Peshawar? A. Amritsari Naan B. Murg Mussallam C. Tandoori Chicken D. Peshawari Raan Answer:  Tandoori Chicken #KBCQuiz #KBC 

Perhaps the only good thing that can be said for the bloody struggle that followed the partition of Pakistan and India in 1947 is that it forced the great tandoori cooks, who were Hindus, to flee from places like Peshawar, near the Afghanistan border, where they were throwing away their tikkas and kebabs on British air force officers, to the Indian capital of Delhi, where they set the food- loving world on its ear. JAMES TRAUB is the author of

MOTI MAHAL: DELHI’S GASTRONOMIC PEARL Moti Mahal (Palace of Pearl), one of the oldest restaurants in Delhi, helped spread to the world one of India’s iconic cuisines: Tandoori food. It is also credited with inventing dishes such as “dal makhani” — black gram lentils with tomatoes, cream and butter — and “butter chicken” that have become hallmarks of Indian food globally. What began as a small eatery in Peshawar in British India, the restaurant later reopened in Delhi in 1947 after

Sometimes, one does not know when one is about to embark on a long journey to unknown lands in search of hidden secrets and treasures. This happened with me a few years ago. It was in 2010 and I was teaching at the Le Cordon Bleu in Paris when a Bosnian student mentioned the Bosnian kebab called Cevapi in class. A kebab made with three meats (pork, beef and lamb) with subtle spices and grilled to perfection. This prompted me

Mark your calendar. Marshal your spices. Dust off your Dutch oven or plug in your Instant Pot. Tuesday, Oct. 20, will be the first-ever World Butter Chicken Day. Butter chicken is the dish known in Hindi as murgh makhani. The rich, creamy, aromatic, gently spiced specialty — in which chicken pieces are simmered in a smooth, buttery, tomatoey gravy — may well be the most popular Indian dish in the universe. It’s certainly one of the most approachable for diners

No one knows how many Indian restaurants exist worldwide; reportedly there are more than 5,000 in the United States alone. The exact number depends on how you define “Indian” and “restaurant.” And most of them – from a little mom-and-pop shop on the corner to the Michelin-starred Junoon in New York City – serve many of the same dishes, the standard repertoire that diners have come to expect. The menu just isn’t complete unless it contains skewered chicken tandoori in

What does gold have to do with food? Well, I am writing about the black dal – yes humble black urad whole lentil whose avatar, the makhani dal, was invented by none other than Kundan Lal Gujral, the founder of the Moti Mahal chain. He revolutionized the way dal was cooked, making it a household name, placing the humble dal on the world culinary map. The idea was triggered off when he invented the famous makhani gravy just to be

There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who love Butter Chicken, those who think Butter Chicken is overrated and those who have never tasted Butter Chicken. Of all of these, I feel deep sorrow for the third kind. It is a loss of gigantic proportions, in my opinion. Delhi, arguably the culinary capital of India, owes a large part of its flavour heritage to the Mughals. Butter Chicken, however, has far more humble origins, and was born far

The non-vegetarians across the country can’t thank the inventor of the Butter Chicken enough, for bestowing upon mankind the ever-so creamy and sumptuous delight. The vegetarians on the other hand, echo similar sentiments about Dal Makkhani. Now for those who are a fan of both the delicacies, we’ll make the job easier for you. Did you know that both the dishes were the brainchild of a single man, who came up with the lip-smacking recipe(s) in a bid to make