Chenna Poda

by Shaheen Ali

Chenna poda |ଛେନାପୋଡ଼ is a cheese dessert from the state of Odisha in eastern India. Chenna poda literally means Roasted Cheese in Odia. It is made of well-kneaded homemade fresh cheese chenna, sugar, cashew nuts and raisins, and is baked for several hours until it browns. Chenna poda is the only well known Indian dessert whose flavor is predominantly derived from the caramelisation of sugar. 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. After losing out to another traditional Odia sweet, rasagolla to West Bengal, the Odisha Milk Federation is investing heavily in mass-producing and popularizing this delicacy, determined not to let this happen again.


It is said that chennapoda originated in the Odia town of Nayagarh in the first half of the twentieth century. The owner of a confectionery, a certain Sudarshana Sahoo 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 in West Bengal and elsewhere in India. Also it is a very famous and popular desert in coastal Odisha, India. [ source – Wikipedia ]

Print Recipe
ଛେନାପୋଡ଼ | CHENNA PODA
Course dessert
Cuisine oriya
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
serving
Ingredients
For Caramel -
Course dessert
Cuisine oriya
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
serving
Ingredients
For Caramel -
Instructions
  1. Take fresh paneer or home made chenna and mix and mash it well with your hands,
  2. Add powder sugar and cardamom powder and mix all together nicely till you see even crumbles.
  3. Add sooji/ rawa , ghee and milk and mix properly till everything incorporates well.
  4. In a seperate pan fry the broken pieces of cashews and few raisins and add it to the chenna mix and mix it well with a spoon.
  5. In a baking pan or a tin, add 1 tbsp of ghee and spread all over in the base.
  6. Add sugar and hold the pan or baking tray firmly on the gas top and heat the pan base till the sugar starts to caramelize.
  7. Turn off the gas and transfer the chenna mix over the caramelized sugar evenly.
  8. Tap the pan to settle the mix well and bake the chenna in a pre heated oven at 180 degree C for 40-45 mins or till the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.
  9. Take out the baked chenna poda and cool it on a wire wrack for 2 hrs approx.
  10. Hold the pan up side down on a serving tray and remove the chenna poda carefully.
  11. Cut into slices and serve!
Recipe Notes

Notes : You can use ready made paneer or can make chenna at home also. I used home mad chenna, with one liter of milk i got around 250 gms of chenna.

Quantity of the sugar is as per choice. You can add more sugar if you want a strong sweet taste.

If you liked this recipe, pls do drop in your valuable feedback or suggestions in comments below.

Thanks for stopping by!

Love : Shaheen

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