Our Story

The man who gave tandoori to the world…….

Kundan Lal Gujral was born in the first decade of the twentieth century in Chakwal , in undivided Punjab .Having lost his father at the tender age of ten, had to start looking for avenues to support the family .. Kundan lal was the first in Peshawar to dig a tandoor right in the middle of the eatery . And, around 1920 , Peshawar was introduced to the culinary art of Tandoori chicken by Legendary Kundan Lal. This was a run away success .Soon Kundan was in demand for tandoori delicacy at social gathering and wedding feasts where he would use an improvised tandoor.

However , 1947 brought the tragedy of partition , forcing among others Kundan to flee to India. Uncertainty faced him as he had neither money nor resources to make afresh start in life. Kundan dropped off in Delhi to try his luck. Roaming the streets, he chanced upon an abandoned Thara in Daryaganj , then considered a newer part of old Delhi . Some inner voice told him this was the spot, which would not only rehabilitate him but also, who knows ,the Dilli wallas would see merit in his Tandoori chicken.

Thus was born the now internationally acclaimed Moti Mahal restaurant , which contributed significantly to putting India on the food map of the world. Our leaders like Pandit Jawahar lal Nehru , Indira Gandhi , Former President Zakir Hussain among various world leaders like Bhutto, Former American President Nixon , Kennedy, Shah of Iran etc have visited Moti Mahal to sample Kundan1s innovations -its Tandoori delicacies on various occasions.

Says , Uma Vasudeva , in the foreword in the book "Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail authored by Monish Gujral , Shri Kundan Lal`s grand son, " This is the story of a man who set on a culinary adventure and changed the face of Indian cooking This is a story of a man and a recipe which internationalized the Indian taste of succulence and spice in its food. A man who turned the plebian village tandoor for baking into a royal mode for his innovation -The Tandoori Chicken Then came the Butter chicken - The result -a revolution in taste , change in Indian eating habits and a place on the international gourmet map. This man was Kundan Lal Gujral . The restaurant where he housed his innovations was Moti Mahal . The two became a legendary mix. Kundan Lal not only made tandoori cuisine popular through out India but also strengthened the appeal of Indian food in many parts of the world .The Tandoori Chicken has become a draw card for Indian tourism . What more convincing words can be said ,as were said by our very own Maulana Azad , former education Minister, who said to Shah on Iran on one of his state visits that" coming to Delhi without eating at Moti Mahal would be like visiting Agra without seeing Taj Mahal." It's the tourism industry both Nationally and internationally has recognized Kundan`s contribution awarding his many a times namely –

About our Management Team

Monish Gujral, Managing Director of the Moti Mahal Tandoori Trail chain of restaurants

Monish Gujral graduated from Delhi University, majoring in Business studies. He then studied Hotel Management at Pusa Institute at Delhi, before sweating it out in the kitchen of world famous Moti Mahal restaurant to understand the first hand concept of inventory management and learning recipes directly from his grandfather. He is the grandson of legendary Kundan Lal Gujral, the person who introduced Tandoori cuisine to the world by inventing the Famous Tandoori chicken and placing India on the world culinary map. Monish is also a columnist with India's number one news paper – The Hindustan Times and also writes a food column on food trends of India and recipes in The Hindu . He is also actively involved in helping and training students in Institute of Hotel Management, Catering & Nutrition, Pusa, Delhi in Tandoori and Mughlai culinary. Monish has also instituted an annual trophy for the best student chef of the Institute of Hotel Management Pusa, Delhi, in the memory of his late grandfather.

To commemorate Kundan Lal's tandoori trail from Peshawer to Delhi, Monish has launched the new look Moti Mahal restaurants called the Tandoori Trail restaurants and plan a global chain of such eateries.

Monish has also authored a book "Moti Mahal's Taandoori Trail", which besides being a treasure house of recipes has a unique photographs of various dignitaries and celebrities such a Kenedys, Nehru, Indira Gandhi. Shah of Iran among others which make this book a truly collectors item. The book was released by Arun Jaitley, the then Law & Justice and Commerce Minister on the 18th of April 2004. The book was also released in London at the Nehru Center on the 3rd of June 2005 by the Minister for Culture and Director of Nehru Center – Mr. Pawan Kumar Verma.

Besides this, Monish Gujral has directed and conceived – Moti Mahal Qawalli Trail Music with T-series collaboration, launched by the Minister for Tourism, Mrs. Renuka Chowdhari – qawalli which is hall mark of Indian culture and which was always patronized by Moti Mahal for live entertainment in the restaurant.

Sachin Sarwal-
Director-operations and accounts

A graduate from Delhi University in business studies . A first hand in restaurant operations and effectivley managing them . A ten year experience in running a chain of restaurants and is third generation from the family of restaurateurs.

Sonal Gujral-
Public relations and marketing - head

A post graduate with business studies background .She has been instrumental in building great communication with the press and our franchisees .

Shilpa Sarwal-
creative head

She has a design diploma from Pearl academy .She is a creative team leader for developing and designing various advertisement and marketing campaigns.

Suresh Kumar Mehra-
C.F.M (Corporate franchise manager)

With more than 15 years experience in hospitality industry , he heads the franchise corporate team of personnel and is responsible for effective and smooth operations of our franchised outlets.

Pradeep Bhandari-
Assistant corporate franchise manager

With more than ten years of experience in managing motimahal restaurants,he is well versed with all the operational and front desk management of the restaurant .He with is team assists the franchisees to start the outlet effectively taking care of stock management , appointing the local vedors , food costing , putting all the procedures in place for the franchisee to operate te outlet effectively.

Corporate Chef - Mitra Lal Sapkota

Assistant corporate chefs
Tandoor Section

Curry section

Zonal Managers

A team of corporate personnel , working tirelessly to assist the franchisees in various aspects of restaurant management:

F&B Service Traning Department

Chartered accountants -
Sudheer Talwar and Associates

Legal
Chand and Sethi advocates