Chhena poda

Chhena poda (transl. Burned cheese) is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. Chhena poda literally means Roasted Cheese in Odia.[1] It is made of well-kneaded homemade fresh cheese chhena, sugar is baked for several hours until it browns.[2] Chhena poda is the only well known Indian dessert whose flavor is predominantly derived from the caramelization of sugar.

Chenapoda of Pahala, Odisha

Chhena poda
CourseDessert
Place of originIndia
Region or stateOdisha, India
Main ingredientsChhena cheese, sugar, cashew nuts and raisins

History

Chhenapoda originated in the Odia town of Nayagarh in the first half of the twentieth century. The owner of a confectionery, Sudarshana Sahoo[3] decided to add sugar and seasonings to leftover cottage cheese one night, and left it in an oven that was still warm from earlier use. The next day, he was pleasantly surprised to find out what a scrumptious dessert he had created. Today, it is also made and is popular in many states of India. Also it is a very famous and popular dessert in coastal Odisha, India.

Demand

Demand and sale of Chhenapoda is huge in Odisha with every sweet shop preparing its own flavour either from sugar or gud (jaggery). Its shape of a cake often attracts a huge number visitors to grab a bite and take it home as the "Taste of Odisha".

Preparation

Chhena poda is usually made at home during traditional festivals in Odisha, such as Durga Puja. It is also served in small traditional roadside stalls and confectioneries throughout the state along with other delicacies such as rasagolla. Since the mid-1980s, it has gradually found its place in restaurant menus across Odisha. Odisha Milk Federation is investing heavily in mass-producing and popularizing this delicacy, determined not to let this happen again.[4][5][6][7]

Chenapoda
Cutting Chhenapoda as birthday cake

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs part-skim Ricotta cheese
  • 3 tbsp sooji
  • 15 tbsp of sugar
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup cashew nuts (preferably raw)
  • Cardamoms
  • 1 cup water

See also

References
  1. Sahu, Deepika (2012). "Discover Odisha's 'sweet' magic - The Times of India". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 3 July 2012. This mouth-watering sweet from Odisha literally means burnt cheese.
  2. "The Sweet Bypass On NH5". UpperCrust.
  3. "Inventor of 'Chhena Poda' passes away". Odisha Television Ltd. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. just-food.com editorial team (August 2002). "Orissa invests in marketing traditional confectionery product".
  5. Rajaram Satpathy (15 August 2002). "Sweet wars: Chhenapoda vs rasagolla". Times of India.
  6. "Chhena poda". The Hindu. 11 April 2009.
  7. "Chhena poda". The Hindu. 11 April 2009.
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