used by locals until then to cook naans (bread). The tandoors are bell-shaped ovens, set into the earth and fired with wood or charcoal reaching temperatures of about 900 degrees. Gujral was able to cook the tender chickens in these ovens making them succulent inside and crispy outside.
After the partition in 1947, Punjab was partitioned with the Eastern portion joining India and the Western, Pakistan. Peshawar became part of Pakistan and Gujral found himself one among many
HinduA Hindu is an adherent of Hinduism, a set of religious, philosophical and cultural systems that originated in the Indian subcontinent. The vast body of Hindu scriptures, divided into Śruti and Smriti , lay the foundation of Hindu beliefs which primarily include dhárma, kárma, ahimsa and saṃsāra...
refugees fleeing the rioting and upheaval by moving to India. He moved his restaurant to Delhi in a place called
DaryaganjDaryaganj, also called Darya Ganj , is a neighbourhood of Delhi which includes the walled city of Shahjahanabad . The "darya" refers to the river Yamuna which was just outside the walled city...
.
The Tandoori chicken at Moti Mahal so impressed the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, that he made it a regular at official banquets. Visiting dignitaries that enjoyed Tandoori Chicken included American Presidents
Richard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States and is the only president to resign the office. He was also the 36th Vice President of the United States ....
and
John KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Soviet leaders
Nikolai BulganinNikolai Alexandrovich Bulganin was a prominent Soviet politician, who served as Minister of Defense and Prime Minister ....
and
Nikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
, the King of Nepal, and the Shah of Iran.
The fame of Tandoori Chicken led to many derivatives like
Chicken TikkaChicken tikka ; /murɣ ʈikkɑː/) is a dish of South Asia.It is traditionally baked skewers with small pieces of chicken, usually boneless, in a clay based oven called tandoor, after marinating in spices and yogurt....
(and eventually the Anglo-Indian dish
Chicken Tikka MasalaChicken tikka masala is a curry dish of roast chicken chunks in a rich red, creamy, lightly spiced, tomato-based sauce. The origins of the dish are disputed. One potential origin attributes its invention to a chef in Glasgow, United Kingdom...
), commonly found in menus in Indian restaurants all over the world.
Regions
Other than India it is popular in some other parts of
South AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries on the west and the east...
it is eaten as a starter before a meal.
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