Non-veggie delight

It gave a whole new dimension to the way India ate in 1920... and now, it is doing it again.

The tandoori trail started in Peshawar in 1920... in the days when India was still undivided... and culminated in India in the shape of a restaurant chain that is today known for making the tandoor an integral part of every non-vegetarian's appetite. Moti Mahal set shop in divided India in 1947 in Daryaganj, Delhi.

Its founder Kundan Lal Gujral, known to have invented the famous butter chicken, changed the face of Indian cuisine. Legend has it that Gujral dipped the tandoori chicken pieces into a tomato and cream gravy to scintillate the Delhiites' tastebuds and thus created the butter chicken.

Now managed by his grandson Monish Gujral, Moti Mahal continues to remain a favourite for anyone seeking tandoori and Mughlai cuisine. Gujral, owing to his rigorous initiation into the Moti Mahal family has not only kept its traditional feasts alive but even introduced healthier versions.

He fondly remembers the time his grandfather lured him with higher pay in working for him and made him slog in the restaurant.

The restaurant that has hosted dinners for the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy, Shah of Iran, French Prime Minister Trudeau, Russian Premier Gorbachev, Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi is now dabbling with creating low calorie versions of the Moti Mahal fare for regulars like Arun Jaitley.

Spread across the country now, Moti Mahal has achieved what few other restaurants could... success in every part of the country, even the south and east. And with new additions to its menu that include tandoori salmon, trout and whole baby pomfrets, there is no stopping this 87-year-old legacy.