Moti mahal bettiah

Earlier this year — just before The Great Confinement — I became obsessed with butter chicken, and in April tracked down the Delhi-based chef, Since then, I’ve normalized my relationship to the dish, which has taken its place in our home as a favorite for those times when we crave easy-to-conjure comfort that also transports. Following the conversations chef Gujral and I had about the dish and its history in April, we have stayed in touch, and in September he texted to say that I suggested he proclaim the appropriate date in October to be World Butter Chicken Day, to be celebrated every year. After all, butter chicken is no doubt the most popular Indian dish in the universe. It needs a food holiday! The exact date of Moti Mahal’s founding is unknown, so Gujral chose October 20, the birthday of his own son, who Monish says “looks like his great-grandfather,” Kundan Lal. So there you have it: this coming Tuesday, October 20 will be the first-ever World Butter Chicken Day. (A bit of research led me to understand that’s how these food holidays get created: Someone simply creates them, and they either catch on or they don’t.) #WorldButterChickenDay is an auspicious day, of course, to enjoy murgh makhani (butter chicken in Hindi), salute its origin — and (it struck us both) make a tax-deductible contribution to the United Nations’ With all the excitement around murgh makhani and its origins, it has also felt like the moment to revisit our Ultimate Butter Chicken recipe, my adapt...

Built by Nawab Saadat Ali Khan, the Moti Mahal is popularly known as the Pearl Palace. This historical monument located on the banks of river Gomti is constructed next to Mubarak Manzil and Shah Manzil. A former residence of the Nawabs of Lucknow during the time, Moti Mahal was initially a part of the Qaisar Bagh complex. Thedeteriorating flawless white structure of the palace is a great birdwatching spot, as the Nawabs of the time used to love sighting birds and other animal fights for entertainment. Today, the surrounding gardens are used to hold conferences, parties and other such special occasions.

In 2015 when I wrote about Moti Mahal, at one time, Delhi’s best-known restaurant, the article went viral since it presented an accurate picture of the place and how three friends, all refugees of Partition, carved out a place for themselves in the culinary history of the country. The Moti Mahal story ended when the partnership broke and both Kundan Lal Gujral and Kundan Lal Jaggi parted ways. Thakur Dass, the third co-founder, had withdrawn himself from the venture earlier. The present Moti Mahal Delux restaurants are a different company which has the patronage of Kundan Lal Gujral’s grandson, Monish Gujral. Those familiar with Delhi would recall that the Moti Mahal in Daryaganj attracted a clientele which was international. It served Tandoori Chicken and Fish as so many other items, the kind of which, very few may have tasted. The eating place enjoyed the patronage of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who would often order food from Moti Mahal during official banquets. It was also a favourite place of Soviet Premier N. Khurschev who loved the dishes so much that he would many a times get chefs and food flown in to Moscow for special occasions. The only other restaurant that matched Moti Mahal was Khyber at Kashmeri Gate which served a similar variety of food. Both these restaurants were inspired by the recipes from Peshawar where the original eating places existed. Moti Mahal was owned by Mokha Singh and Khyber by the Sethi family. Kundan Lal Gujral who carved out a succe...