Also known as analogue paneer, this is a product that mimics the appearance and taste of paneer but is made with non-dairy ingredients
A food blogger recently went to Gauri Khan’s famed Mumbai restaurant, Torii, where, after testing paneer—he called it out as fake. YouTuber Sarthak Sachdeva said the purity of paneer at Khan’s luxury restaurant was “fake.” He conducted an iodine test on a paneer dish he had ordered, which indicated it was not pure.
At Torii, the iodine caused the paneer to turn black - a popular telltale sign of the presence of starch. In disbelief, Sarthak, on his social media account, where he shared the video of the entire process, exclaimed, “Shah Rukh Khan’s restaurant serves fake paneer.”
What is fake paneer?
Also known as analogue or synthetic paneer, this is a product that mimics the appearance and taste of paneer but is made with non-dairy ingredients like vegetable oils, starch, and additives instead of dairy milk.
While it is cheaper to produce, analogue paneer lacks the nutritional benefits of real paneer and can contain unhealthy additives. Analogue paneer is also designed to resemble the real in texture and taste—and so, it makes it extremely difficult for consumers to distinguish.
What are the health concerns with analogue paneer?
Fake paneer contains trans fats—which, according to doctors, pose significant health risks, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke due to inflammation and insulin resistance. They also elevate LDL, or bad cholesterol levels, and HDL, or good cholesterol, leading to cholesterol buildup in arteries.
Additionally, they are also linked to type 2 diabetes, inflammation, and even some cancers. Analogue paneer also causes digestive issues like bloating, constipation, and indigestion, resulting in vomiting, diarrhoea, and nausea.
Does the iodine test accurately prove the purity of paneer?
After Sarthak’s post went viral, Torii released an official rebuttal claiming, “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.”
Experts say the presence of starch in paneer does indicate adulteration - as it is not a natural component of pure paneer.
However, it is not clear what the other ingredients in the dish that Sarthak had ordered were, which means that due to their presence, the iodine test may not have fully indicated the purity of the paneer.
How is the iodine test conducted?
The test, which detects the presence of starch, is conducted with the help of adding iodine solution to a sample containing starch, and thereafter the solution would turn blue-black. If no starch is present, the iodine solution will remain its original brown colour.
This test is commonly used to identify starch in food products or to determine the ripeness of fruits like apples.
How to identify fake paneer?
Even though selling analogue paneer is not illegal in India, according to the FSSAI, not mentioning or labelling analogue paneer as "non-dairy" warrants a penalty. However, you can easily find out which one is real by
- Natural paneer, made from the dairy milk curdling process, has a firm texture with a milky smell. You can check the texture, and if it is grainy and crumbly, the paneer is real. Analogue paneer, on the other hand, would be overly rubbery or mushy.
- Your regular milk paneer would turn brown upon heat, while synthetic paneer crumbles and melts in no time.
- You can also conduct the toor dal test—allow the boiled paneer to cool in water. Add some toor dal to the water and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. If the water turns a light red, the paneer could be contaminated. If there is no change in colour, you can safely enjoy your paneer.
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