Nearly two of every three votes. That was the margin that put a tomato-cream chicken taco ahead of a Thai rival in Taco Bell’s first Global Taco Vote, and it means a dish with a disputed birth certificate will land on American menus sometime later this year.
The dish is butter chicken. Two Delhi restaurants have been arguing in court over which of them can say their family invented it. The chain that wants to put it in a fried chalupa shell has no stake in that argument, though the timing makes for an odd pairing. A fast-food launch and a legal claim over legacy are circling the same plate of chicken.
A Taco Chosen by App Vote
Taco Bell’s press release dates the contest from March 26 to April 1, 2026. Rewards Members voted once a day in the app, choosing between India’s Butter Chicken Taco and Thailand’s Kickin’ Chicken Taco. The winner was announced April 2. According to Food Network’s Amy Reiter, the Butter Chicken Taco took 64.65 percent of the votes, and Restaurant Business put the figure at nearly 65.
The taco itself is shredded, slow-roasted chicken simmered in a tomato-cream sauce with Indian-style spices, topped with onion, cilantro, lettuce, and cheddar, all inside a fried chalupa shell. It already exists overseas. Restaurant Business reports it was introduced on the chain’s “Desi Menu” in India in 2023.
Taco Bell International’s chief marketing and strategy officer, Amy Ellis Durini, said the vote was “all about celebrating the creativity of Taco Bell menus around the world.” Global chief food innovation officer Liz Matthews offered a framing of her own: “This generation is all about fusion and trying new things.”
A Dish With a Disputed Birth Certificate
Butter chicken is generally described as tandoor-cooked chicken in a tomato gravy enriched with cream and butter. NBC News, citing Reuters, notes that TasteAtlas ranked it 43rd among the world’s dishes and second among Indian ones.
The founding story belongs to Kundan Lal Gujral. NBC reports that his restaurant, Moti Mahal, began in Peshawar in the 1930s before moving to Delhi, and Al Jazeera says he opened the Delhi restaurant in 1947. In Moti Mahal’s telling, he created butter chicken by adding a rich tomato-based gravy to leftover chicken to keep the pieces moist.
You cannot take away somebody’s legacy.
Monish Gujral, managing director of Moti Mahal, quoted by Reuters
Two Families, One Slogan
A rival story runs through Kundan Lal Jaggi, described by Al Jazeera as Gujral’s cousin and partner at Moti Mahal. His heirs opened a restaurant called Daryaganj in 2019, using the slogan “By the inventors of butter chicken and dal makhani,” which was trademarked in 2018. Raghav Jaggi says his grandfather created a gravy for leftover tandoori chicken. According to NBC and Reuters, Daryaganj also presented a handwritten 1949 partnership document as evidence.
| Moti Mahal’s account | Daryaganj’s account | |
|---|---|---|
| Who invented it | Kundan Lal Gujral | Kundan Lal Jaggi, with Gujral |
| Where | Delhi, after beginnings in Peshawar | The Delhi restaurant, 1947 (per NBC) |
| Evidence cited | Its lawsuit, filed in the Delhi High Court | A handwritten 1949 partnership document |
| The slogan | Says the Daryaganj tagline misleads people (The Quint) | Uses “By the inventors of butter chicken and dal makhani,” trademarked in 2018 |
Moti Mahal filed a 2,752-page lawsuit in the Delhi High Court, accusing Daryaganj of falsely claiming the invention of both butter chicken and dal makhani and of copying its website and restaurant look. It sought 20 million rupees, about $240,000, and an order barring Daryaganj from claiming inventor credit. The first hearing was January 16, 2024, with the next set for May 29, 2024.
What a Slogan Is Worth
Tulasi Srinivas, an Emerson College anthropology professor quoted by Al Jazeera, explained why a cooking origin story can end up in court: claiming to be the original creator “translates into real money.”
That line connects the two stories more directly than the calendar does. A restaurant’s inventor claim is a brand asset, and a chain’s global-menu vote is another kind of brand asset. Both treat a dish as something that belongs to someone, even though butter chicken is now cooked and adapted in kitchens worldwide. This is opinion: the taco takes no side in the dispute, but it benefits from the dish being famous enough to fight over.
Where Things Stand
The most recent court reporting available for this piece dates to early 2024, and the search turned up no published ruling. Treat the legal status as unconfirmed, and check recent Indian court news before relying on it.
The taco’s timing is also open. Taco Bell says only that it is coming as a limited-time offer later in 2026, with a date and duration to be announced. A third-party Taco Bell menu tracker last updated on September 12 does not list the taco at all, and a FastFoodWatch roundup of National Taco Day deals does not mention it either.
For readers who want a different angle on how a regional dish becomes a national craze, see the cottage cheese story and the long run of candy corn.
This article summarizes published news reports about a pending lawsuit and is not legal advice.
Sources
- Taco Bell Global Taco Vote press release, Taco Bell newsroom, March 26, 2026
- When Is the Butter Chicken Taco Coming to Taco Bell?, Amy Reiter, Food Network, April 7, 2026
- Taco Bell’s Butter Chicken Taco Coming to the U.S., Alicia Kelso, Restaurant Business
- Taco Bell Fans Have Spoken: This Global Taco Is Coming to the US, Rolland Judd, The Takeout, April 2, 2026
- Who Invented Butter Chicken? Indian Judge to Rule on Dispute Over Global Favorite, NBC News (Reuters), January 2024
- Butter Chicken Battle: How the Dish Brought Two Indian Restaurants to Court, Sarah Shamim, Al Jazeera, February 17, 2024
- Moti Mahal or Daryaganj? Delhi HC Steps In to Settle the Butter Chicken Debate, The Quint, January 21, 2024
- Taco Bell New Menu Items 2026, taccobellmenu.us, updated September 12, 2026
- National Taco Day 2026, FastFoodWatch
