Kundan Lal Gujral (c.1902 - 1997) was an Indian

chef A chef is a professional Cook (profession), cook and tradesperson who is proficient in all aspects of outline of food preparation, food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term (), the di ...

and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

based in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. He invented several

Indian dishes This is a list of Indian dishes. Many of the dishes on this list are made all across India. Indian cuisine encompasses a wide variety of regional cuisine native to India. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate and occupations, these ...

which have since become popular worldwide, including

butter chicken Butter chicken is a type of curry made from chicken cooked in a spiced tomato and butter (''makhan'')-based gravy. The gravy is typically known for its rich texture. It is similar to chicken tikka masala, which uses a tomato paste. The dish orig ...

paneer makhani Paneer makhani (also called paneer butter masala) is an Indian dish of paneer, originating in New Delhi, in which the gravy is prepared usually with butter (''makhan''), tomatoes and cashews. Spices such as red chili powder and garam masala are ...

tandoori chicken Tandoori chicken is a dish made from chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in a '' tandoor'', a cylindrical clay oven. The dish is now popular worldwide. The modern form of the dish was popularized by the Moti Mahal restaurant in ...

and

dal makhani Dal is a term in the Indian subcontinent for dried, split pulses. Dal or DAL may also refer to: Places Cambodia *Dal, Ke Chong Finland * Laakso, a neighbourhood of Helsinki India * Dal Lake, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India * Dal ...

. He was the founder of the restaurant chain Moti Mahal Delux.

Early life

Kundan Lal Gujral was born around 1902 to Diwan Chand Gujral and Maya Devi in

Chakwal District Chakwal District () is a district located on the Pothohar Plateau in Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the northwestern area of the Punjab province, bordered by Talagang to its west, Rawalpindi to its northeast, Jhelum to its east. The distr ...

, in the Punjab Province of

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

(now in

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

) into a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify ethnically, linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are natives of the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. Punjabi Hindus are the third-largest religious g ...

Khatri Khatri () is a caste system in India, caste originating from the Malwa (Punjab), Malwa and Majha areas of Punjab region of South Asia that is predominantly found in India, but also in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Khatris claim they are war ...

family. His only brother Chunni Lal died at the age of 18 due to

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. His father was a cloth merchant. Kundan Lal Gujral completed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

Chakwal Chakwal (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ) is a city in Chakwal District in the Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the Largest cities of Pakistan, 48th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west o ...

. In he started working at a small eatery called Moti Mahal, owned by Mokha Singh Lamba in

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...

. He married Ram Prakash Devi with whom he had a child, Nand Lal Gujral on 26 November 1935. In 1947, during the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

he migrated with his family to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and settled in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. He then went on to start an eatery by the name of Moti Mahal in

Daryaganj Daryaganj (literally "A market near a river") is a neighbourhood of Delhi inside the walled city of Old Delhi. The "darya" (lit. "River") refers to the river Yamuna which was just outside the walled city. Daryaganj is one of the three sub-divisi ...

Old Delhi Shahjahanabad colloquially known as Old Delhi( Hindustani: ''Purāni Dillī'') is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shi ...

Known for

Kundan Lal Gujral is known for the famous

culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

inventions such as tandoori chicken, murgh makhani and dal makhani.

The invention of tandoori chicken

Gujral started as a chef in a small restaurant owned by Mokha Singh Lamba in Gora Bazaar,

. He experimented by skewering yogurt marinated pieces of chicken and sticking them into the

tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large vase-shaped oven, usually made of clay. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti (as well as leavened ones, such as naan) and to roast meat. Tandoors are predominantly use ...

(which was previously used only for Breads). This experiment led to the famous dish tandoori chicken. Tandoori chicken is another popular dish in

Indian restaurants Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

around the world.

The invention of murgh makhani

To avoid wastage of the leftover or unsold tandoori tikkas (marinated pieces of chicken cooked in a tandoor) due to the lack of

refrigeration Refrigeration is any of various types of cooling of a space, substance, or system to lower and/or maintain its temperature below the ambient one (while the removed heat is ejected to a place of higher temperature).IIR International Dictionary of ...

facilities at that time, Gujral added tomato gravy with butter to the tandoori tikkas to soften the chicken so that he could sell them the next day. This culinary accident led to the famous dish. Today, murgh makhani, or butter chicken, is the most popular

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

around the world.

The invention of dal makhani

Gujral is also known for inventing dal makhani which is a mildly spiced

pulses Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

curry made with the combination of tangy tomatoes, butter, and rich cream. This combination of mixed spices and dairy products is known as famous dal makhani.

Legacy

After having fled

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, Kundan Lal Gujral settled in Delhi and opened a small

dhaba A dhaba is a roadside restaurant in the Indian subcontinent. They are on highways, generally serve local cuisine, and also serve as truck stops. They are most commonly found next to Filling station, petrol stations, and most are open 24 hours ...

(roadside eatery) to introduce Delhiites to the tandoori chicken. He bought a small space in

and set up Moti Mahal. The place quickly proved popular and within a year Kundan Lal Jaggi & Gujral bought the adjoining area, turning his eatery into a 400-seat restaurant. Dignitaries like former Indian Prime Ministers,

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

and

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, former

Indian President The president of India (ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the supreme commander of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu is the ...

Dr. Zakir Hussain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian Education in India, educationist and politician who served as the Vice President of India, vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1 ...

, actors

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

and

Nargis Dutt Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the ...

, and Soviet leader

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

are among the famous patrons. He served his iconic dishes here. Later in 1970's Kundan Lal son, Nand Lal Gujral expanded Moti Mahal in

South Delhi South Delhi is an administrative district of the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India with its headquarters in Saket. Administratively, the district is divided into three subdivisions, Saket, Hauz Khas, and Mehrauli. It is bounded by ...

to establish Moti Mahal Delux chain of restaurants. Currently, Kundan Lal Gujral's grandson, Monish Gujral has instituted Moti Mahal Delux Management Services in 2003 by expanding the business into

franchises Franchise may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Media franchise, a collection of related creative works, such as films, video games, books, etc., particularly in North American usage * "Franchise" (short story), a 1955 short story ...

across India. Today, it has grown from a small restaurant in

to a modern eating chain with more than 150 franchises in India and worldwide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gujral, Kundan Lal 1900s births Chefs of Indian cuisine Indian chefs 1997 deaths Indian Hindus People from Chakwal District Punjabi Hindus