Gauri Khan's restaurant responds to YouTuber's fake paneer claims

Mumbai restaurant Torii has denied allegations of using adulterated ingredients in their food, following a viral video in which a YouTuber conducted an iodine test on their paneer to discover that the paneer turns dark.

YouTuber Sarthak Sachdeva conducts iodine test at Gauri Khan-owned Torii

The pan-Asian diner, which is co-owned by Gauri Khan, was launched last year and is famed for its selection of sushi and cold Asian signatures. On Wednesday, YouTuber Sarthak Sachdeva visited several celebrity-owned restaurants across Mumbai to test the quality of their paneer, aiming to identify whether they used genuine or adulterated ingredients.

He carried out the test at Virat Kohli’s One8 Commune, Shilpa Shetty’s Bastian, and Bobby Deol’s Someplace Else, using a vial of iodine tincture. After removing the fried coating from the paneer, he washed each piece in water and applied iodine drops. None of the samples from these restaurants turned black, leading Sarthak to believe they were made from quality ingredients. However, when he performed the same test at Torii, the paneer darkened on contact with iodine.

“Shah Rukh Khan ke restaurant mein paneer nakli tha. Ye dekh ke mere toh hosh udd gaye the” he exclaimed in the video. Although the restaurant is owned by Gauri Khan and not her husband SRK, the video soon started garnering attention online.

The iodine test for paneer is a simple home test used to check for starch adulteration in paneer (cottage cheese). Iodine reacts with starch to form a blue-black or dark colour. Paneer should naturally not contain starch. So, if a piece of paneer turns dark upon contact with iodine, it suggests the presence of added starch, often used by some sellers to increase bulk or firmness in low-quality paneer.

Torii responded in the comment section, explaining, “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.”

To which Sarthak humorously replied, “So am I banned now? Btw your food is amazing.”