Chhenapoda originated in the Odia town of Nayagarh in the first half of the twentieth century. The owner of a sweet shop, Sudarshana Sahoo decided to add sugar and seasonings to leftover cottage cheese (chhena) one night and left it in an oven that was still warm from earlier use. The next day he was surprised to find out what a scrumptious dessert he had created. Its “CHHENAPODA” called the Taste of Odisha. Today’s Chhena poda has become Odisha’s staple dessert. Chhena means cottage cheese and Poda means charred. It is not only the best dessert of Odisha but an emotion of all Odias. Demand and sale of Chhenapoda is huge in Odisha with every sweet shop preparing its own flavour either from sugar or gud (jaggery). It attracts huge number visitors who grab a bite and take it home.
As a chef whenever I got a chance to create something different with this legendary dessert in modern take, I did. During ‘.fest’, an event that celebrate all things Odia, when all the best hotels & restaurants got a chance to do something with our Odia cuisine, the best pick by all was Chocolate Chennapoda. This dish was also the only one picked by Highway on My Plate - The Indian Guide by food connoisseurs Rocky & Mayur.
Here’s how to give a to the legendary dessert of odisha – Chhenapoda.
Chocolate Chhenapoda Recipe
Ingredients:
1 kg paneer (fresh cottage cheese)
350grms Sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons Ghee
4 tablespoons Milk
150 gm Semolina (Sooji / Rava)
60 gm Drinking Chocolate Powder
50 gm Cashew nuts few broken
100 gm milk dark compound chocolate
Desi ghee for brushing the baking bowl - 8 to 10 diameter round shape baking mould.
How to make Chenna Poda
To begin making chocolate Chhenapoda, first take fresh paneer or homemade chhena and mash it well with your hands.
Add sugar, chocolate powder and milk dark chocolate compound and mix all together properly.
Add sooji/rawa, ghee and milk and mix it properly till everything incorporates well.
In a separate pan, fry the broken pieces of cashews and add it to the chhena mix as well.
Transfer the chhena mix in the baking pan.
Tap the pan to settle the mix well and bake the chhena in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree C for 40-45 mins. To check if it’s done or not, insert a toothpick and see if it comes out clean.
Take out the baked chocolate chhenapoda and cool it for 2 hours approximately.
Hold the pan upside down on a serving tray and remove the Chocolate Chhenapoda carefully. Dust it with sugar powder & serve with chocolate sauce.
Chef Michael has more than 20 years of experience in the Food Industry and is owner of Michael’s Kitchen, a restaurant in Bhubaneswar, Odisha where he keeps reinventing Odia Cuisine
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