Butter Chicken Case Highlights Delhi History As India's Culinary Capital

For weeks, two popular establishments serving butter chicken, perhaps the most Delhi of Delhi's dishes, have been in court seeking clarity on the matter.

In the dog-eared cookbook of India's culinary delights, the section for Delhi is uniquely beloved. From crisp, gooey sweets like jalebi to the tangy flavor of lamb pulao, the city is built around enjoying, sharing, defending - and bickering over food.

Lately, those passions have fixed on a single question: Can you trademark the world's most famous recipes?

For weeks, two popular establishments serving butter chicken, perhaps the most Delhi of Delhi's dishes, have been in court seeking clarity on the matter. The plaintiff, an old-school restaurant chain called Moti Mahal Delux, has argued in 2,752 pages that its founder was the original inventor of butter chicken and therefore anybody who says otherwise is guilty of infringement. The defendant, a newer restaurant named Daryaganj, has countered by pointing out that it, too, has ancestral ties to another cook who claimed ownership of the dish.