Superstar Shah Rukh Khan's wife, Gauri Khan, is not just known as a Bollywood wife but is also a successful entrepreneur. She is a renowned interior designer who has created dream homes for several Bollywood celebrities. Additionally, she is a restaurateur and owns the popular Mumbai eatery, Torii.
Known for its exotic dishes, the restaurant recently came under scrutiny after social media influencer and YouTuber Sarthak Sachdeva dined there and alleged that they served "fake paneer."
As part of a content series, Sarthak reviewed the food at Torii and claimed that the paneer served contained starch, an indicator of adulteration, based on his test.
In his video, he conducted an iodine tincture test on a piece of paneer. This common method for detecting starch showed a color change (to black or blue) when the paneer came into contact with the iodine, suggesting the presence of starch.
Reacting to the color change, Sarthak declared, "Shah Rukh Khan ke restaurant mein paneer nakli tha. Ye dekh ke mere toh hosh udd gaye the (I was stunned to find that fake paneer was being served at Shah Rukh Khan's restaurant)."
Gauri Khan's team also reacted to the claims and said, "The iodine test reflects the presence of starch, not the authenticity of the paneer. As the dish contains soy-based ingredients, this reaction is expected. We stand by the purity of our paneer and the integrity of our ingredients at Torii."
Sarthak replied cheekily, "So am I banned now? btw, your food is amazing."
What is the iodine tincture test?
In response to the viral iodine test conducted on paneer served at Gauri Khan's restaurant Torii, experts have weighed in on the reliability of such methods.
Dr. Kiran Soni, Head of the Department of Nutrition and Health at Yatharth Hospital, Greater Noida, told HT Lifestyle that while the iodine tincture test does detect the presence of starch, it doesn't definitively prove that the paneer is fake.
"Pure paneer is made from milk proteins and does not naturally contain starch. So, a colour change in the iodine test may indicate adulteration or synthetic paneer," she said in an earlier interview.
However, Dr. Soni also pointed out that some commercial paneer manufacturers may add starch to enhance texture or increase weight.
She further added that better coatings or soy-based ingredients can also interfere with test results. "A dark colour reaction doesn't automatically mean the paneer is entirely artificial—it might just contain added starch," she clarified.
