A failed restaurateur was hunting for his moment of redemption, and a doting grandson was yearning to pay rich tribute to his grandfather. The result is Daryaganj, a north Indian cuisine brand, which is in the midst of a bone-rattling legal fight with Moti Mahal
2019, New Delhi. “So, this will be yet another butter chicken brand,” mocked a veteran analyst when he got to know that restaurateur Amit Bagga had teamed up with Raghav Jaggi to start Daryaganj, a north Indian cuisine brand (which has now dragged competitors Moti Mahal to the Delhi High Court over alleged defamatory remarks). “Every non-vegetarian outlet in Delhi serves butter chicken, and everybody has dal makhani. So, how will you guys be different?” wondered a food critic, who was amused with the move to start a new brand in the heart of the butter chicken capital of India. The fact that Jaggi happened to be the grandson of Kundan Lal Jaggi, who along with his partners, invented butter chicken and dal makhani in the 40s when they opened the first outlet in Old Delhi after relocating from Peshawar, didn’t mean much to the industry observers.