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.
Course | Dessert |
---|---|
Place of origin | India |
Region or state | Odisha, India |
Main ingredients | Chhena 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]
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
- Rasabali
- Rasagolla
- Chhena gaja
- Kheersagar
- Chhena kheeri
- Chhena jalebi
- List of Indian sweets and desserts
- Oriya cuisine
Food portal
References
- 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.
- "The Sweet Bypass On NH5". UpperCrust.
- "Inventor of 'Chhena Poda' passes away". Odisha Television Ltd. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
- just-food.com editorial team (August 2002). "Orissa invests in marketing traditional confectionery product".
- Rajaram Satpathy (15 August 2002). "Sweet wars: Chhenapoda vs rasagolla". Times of India.
- "Chhena poda". The Hindu. 11 April 2009.
- "Chhena poda". The Hindu. 11 April 2009.