Overview
- Türkiye’s Piliç Topkapı tops the TasteAtlas list, with Morocco’s Rfissa second and South Korea’s Chikin third.
- The commonly cited origin story says butter chicken began at Moti Mahal by repurposing leftover tandoori chicken in a creamy tomato-butter gravy.
- The Moti Mahal family asserts Kundan Lal Gujral created the recipe in the 1930s in Peshawar, a claim they have pursued in court.
- The Daryaganj restaurant owners credit Kundan Lal Jaggi with developing the dish in Delhi in 1947 and say they trademarked that claim in 2018.
- Regardless of disputed authorship, butter chicken remains a menu staple across India and at Indian restaurants worldwide.