Who invented butter chicken? A court in India will decide.

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First-time customer Satyam Kumar came to Daryaganj for lunch on Thursday. A clip of Bagga’s appearance on “Shark Tank India” was playing in the dimly lit restaurant, where pictures of the Jaggi family and Kennedy adorn the walls. For Kumar, 24, butter chicken is his comfort dish and he came with high expectations. “It’s your go-to dish if you don’t know what to order,” he said. The lawsuit offers insight into Delhi’s storied culinary history, which was shaped by centuries of Mughal and British rule. During the deadly partition, which took place largely along religious lines, seasoned tandoori cooks who were mostly Hindus like Jaggi and Gujral fled Pakistan and set up shops in Delhi. “One of the easiest skills that they could make money from was cooking,” said Rana Safvi, a historian based in the capital region. “So many dishes came with them. It was these entrepreneurs who transformed the scene in the blink of an eye.” The first Moti Mahal location. Courtesy Amit Bagga When Moti Mahal opened, it was one of a kind in a sea of British and Mughlai restaurants. Instead of frying meat on the stove, the restaurant’s chefs baked it in a clay oven, or tandoor, that was dug into the ground, the source of its iconic smoky flavor and the name, tandoori chicken. Immersed in a creamy sauce that tempered its spiciness, the resulting butter chicken was a massive success, even among foreigners. “It became very easy for anyone to eat, even for those who are not used to spicy food,” Safvi said. At Daryaganj, the clay tandoor isn’t dug into the ground anymore but instead is modernized and more efficient. The restaurant also offers a creamier and even less spicy version, but the original one is still the most popular, Bagga said, with the head chef having spent weeks perfecting the recipes for both. Butter chicken is “comfort food” in India, Bagga said. Saumya Khandelwal for NBC News Kumar tried both versions, but the original one was his favorite. “It’s definitely one of the best butter chicken I have ever had,” he said. Daryaganj looks nothing like the original Moti Mahal restaurant, an open-air spot in Old Delhi where customers could watch their food being cooked in the kitchen. That restaurant was sold off in 1992 and the two Kundans parted ways. Now, neither Moti Mahal nor Daryaganj has restaurants in the area, but it still flourishes as one of the country’s most famous food districts. “I would like to try the butter chicken in both the places,” Kumar said. He added: “But who invented it doesn’t matter.”