What began as a viral iodine test at Torii, a celebrity restaurant run by Gauri Khan,  quickly turned into a cautionary tale about food misinformation—drawing in the top chef Vikas Khanna who termed it as “terrible misinformation.” – and a reminder that social media clout is no substitute for expertise. 

Sarthak Sachdeva’s video, which was part of a series testing paneer at celebrity-owned restaurants, showed an iodine test on Torii’s paneer turning blue-black, which he claimed indicated adulteration. Posted on Instagram, the clip gained traction, with Sachdeva exclaiming that finding “fake paneer” at Gauri Khan’s restaurant was shocking. The video was later removed from Instagram and YouTube.

Torii, which is co-owned by interior designer Gauri Khan, quickly responded with a statement explaining the science behind the reaction.

“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,” the restaurant clarified in the comments section of the viral video.

In a lighthearted follow-up, Sachdeva responded to Torii’s clarification with a playful comment, “So am I banned now? Btw your food is amazing.”

On April 18, Khanna took to Instagram stories, explaining that iodine turns blue-black with starch present in common ingredients like potatoes or flour. “It’s scary that unqualified people are taken seriously,” he wrote, tagging Sachdeva. 

Research backs up what Khanna has said.

Paneer and starch

If paneer turns blue in an iodine test, it usually means that starch has been added to it. Iodine reacts with starch to give a blue or bluish-black color. Paneer should normally not contain starch, but starch from other components, such as flour in gravies or other food products, can be absorbed into the paneer during cooking, resulting in a false positive. Therefore, this change in color can’t certainly prove whether paneer is fake or real.

Also read: Fact Check: Is fake paneer made by mixing milk powder with oils to mimic real paneer? – First Check