Kundan Lal Jaggi (10 September 1924 – 4 March 2018), was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

chef and restaurateur based in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. He along with

Kundan Lal Gujral Kundan Lal Gujral (c.1902 - 1997) was an Indian chef and restaurateur based in New Delhi. He, along with Kundan Lal Jaggi invented several Indian dishes which have since become popular worldwide, including Butter chicken, Paneer makhani, Tandoo ...

is credited with the invention of

Butter chicken Butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani (), is an Indian dish originating in New Delhi. It is a type of curry made from chicken with a spiced tomato and butter (''makhan'') sauce. Its sauce is known for its rich texture. It is si ...

Tandoori chicken Tandoori chicken is a Cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, South Asian dish of chicken (food), chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasting, roasted in a ''tandoor'', a cylindrical clay oven. The dish is now popular world-wide. The moder ...

Dal makhani In Indian cuisine, ''dal'' (also spelled ''daal'' or ''dhal''; pronunciation: , Hindi: दाल, Urdu: ) are dried, split pulses (e.g., lentils, peas, and beans) that do not require soaking before cooking. India is the largest producer of pu ...

Paneer makhani Paneer makhani (also called paneer butter masala) is a slightly sweet 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 gara ...

and the Moti Mahal restaurant.

Early life

Kundan Lal Jaggi was born in Peshawar to Gandamal Jaggi & Channan Devi, a

Punjabi Hindu Punjabi Hindus are adherents of Hinduism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. While Punjabi Hindus are mostly found in the Indian state of Punjab today, many have ancestry from the greater Punjab region ...

family with ancestral ties to the village of Hassal,

Jhelum Jhelum ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

. One of many children, Kundan Lal Jaggi left home early in life and took up work at a restaurant in the city of Peshawar. Kundan Lal Jaggi married Swaran Devi and had five children.

Culinary training and career

Kundan Lal Jaggi started training under the owner of Moti Mahal restaurant, where he had joined as an apprentice and rose to become the chef over the next 12 years. His amiable personality and flair with the tandoor made him a famous name in the culinary circles of

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Contributions to Indian cuisine

The

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947 forced Kundan Lal Jaggi to make his journey from the frontier to the capital city of Delhi. In an area called

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

, Jaggi found a shop and decided to open a restaurant at the premises. Along with his friends from Peshawar (

and Thakur Dass), Jaggi opened the city's first restaurant that would serve food cooked in a

tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoor ...

(a cylindrical clay oven). Kundan Lal Jaggi at First Moti Mahal

Butter chicken

One evening, a group of hungry refugees arrived at Jaggi's restaurant around closing time. Jaggi made a gravy with tomatoes, butter, and a few spices to feed everybody. He added the leftover portions of tandoori chicken to this gravy, giving it a unique flavor. Jaggi added this recipe to the menu under the name Butter Chicken.

Dal makhani

Based on feedback from customers, Kundan Lal Jaggi experimented and created a new recipe using ‘''maa ki dal''’ (black gram). He slow-cooked the dal on the tandoor overnight with a mix of tomatoes, butter, red kidney beans and a few herbs and spices. The overnight cooking produced a flavorful dal with a creamy consistency. He named it the Dal Makhani (meaning buttery in Hindi) as a vegetarian counterpart to Butter Chicken.

Moti Mahal

Kundan Lal Jaggi, Kundan Lal Gujral, and Thakur Dass Mago were old friends from Peshawar who, after a chance meeting, together opened the city's first restaurant that serves Tandoori food, called Moti Mahal in Delhi's Daryaganj. The restaurant started with modest beginnings and soon became a culinary landmark in the city. It enjoyed the patronage of many dignitaries, both Indian and foreign, most notably Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the then prime minister of the country.

Legacy

Daryaganj - By The Inventors of Butter Chicken and Dal Makhani

Though Kundan Lal Jaggi's culinary journey ended with his demise, he bestowed his legacy on his grandson Raghav Jaggi who has created ''Daryaganj-By the inventors of butter chicken and dal makhani'', a chain of restaurants in Delhi NCR. The restaurant concept has been developed keeping in mind Kundan Lal Jaggi's immense contribution to Indian cuisine and to showcase food made with guarded age-old recipes. “Daryaganj” chain of restaurants are present across five locations in Delhi NCR.

Awards

Kundan Lal Jaggi was awarded many accolades throughout his culinary journey, and in 2017 IFCA
The Indian Federation of Culinary Associations
conferred upon him the award of ‘Culinary Legend’ at their 7th International Chefs Conference.

Honorable mentions

“Your greatness is revealed not by the lights that shine upon you, but by the light that shines within you.” Dedication to Kundan Lal Jaggi in his obituary posted by the IFCA.

References

External links

Daryaganj restaurant's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaggi, Kundan Lal 1924 births 2018 deaths Indian people Punjabi people Indian Hindus Punjabi Hindus Indian restaurateurs People from Peshawar People from Central Delhi district