Moti Mahal and Daryaganj's tussle over Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani throws up lessons, and aroma
Indian cuisine around the world are now embroiled in a dispute that may well modify the old saw that links the stomach to the heart, and to add brain, intellect and IP to the mix.
Restaurant chains Moti Mahal and Daryaganj each claim to be the original inventor of both butter chicken and dal makhani. While Moti Mahal is not exactly claiming to exercise IP rights over these two dishes, and thereby bar others from cooking up the dish without a licence from them, they want Daryaganj to know its place and stop claiming they invented the dishes.
Moti Mahal has sought an injunction against Daryaganj using the tag line, 'Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani'.
The case is now stewing in Delhi High Court.
The issue at stake is reputation, not IP. Moti Mahal claims that its founder Kundan Lal Gujral founded the restaurant, tandoori chicken, and a buttery sauce in which to preserve leftover pieces of tandoori chicken, and later used the same sauce for black lentils, to create another unique dish: dal makhani.
The owners of Daryaganj restaurant do not wish to deny Kundan Lal Gujral any of this inventive glory.
Its claim is that its founder, Kundan Lal Jaggi, was his namesake's partner when they founded the original Moti Mahal in Peshawar, and that, as such, Daryaganj's claim to inventive originality cannot be brushed aside like the crumbs of tandoori roti.
To some, such a dispute over fav foods might leave a bad taste in the mouth. They overlook some fine points brought into the public domain, only thanks to the controversy.
At the most obvious level, let us understand that what seems obvious might well prove false.
Take the Hindi saying, 'Dal mein kuchh kala hai (There's something black in the dal). This is meant to
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