Sweets and desserts
Chhena poda
Odisha's baked cheese sweet: chhena with sugar and semolina, baked slowly until caramelised and brown.
Chhena poda, literally burnt cheese, is a sweet from Odisha made of fresh chhena kneaded with sugar, semolina and cardamom, then baked slowly until the outside caramelises into a dark brown crust and the inside stays soft. It is cut into wedges and is said to be a favourite of Lord Jagannath.
What goes in
- Chhena853%, Fresh, kneaded.
- Sugar320%, Caramelises.
- Semolina17%, Binds.
- Cardamom17%, Fragrance.
- Ghee17%, For the tin.
- Cashews and raisins17%, Optional.
Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.
Made step by step
Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.
Step 1: Rest Make fresh chhena and hang it until most of the whey is gone. Step 2: Knead Knead the chhena with sugar, semolina and cardamom. Step 3: Rest Rest the mixture so the semolina softens. Step 4: Layer Press into a tin greased with ghee or lined with sal leaves. Step 5: Bake Bake slowly for a long time until the top and sides are deep brown. Step 6: Serve Cool and cut into wedges. Finished Chhena poda, by share.
Nayagarh
The sweet is credited to a confectioner in the Nayagarh district of Odisha in the mid twentieth century, who is said to have left sweetened chhena in a cooling wood oven overnight and found it baked. Whether or not the story is exact, chhena poda spread through Odisha and is now sold in sweet shops from Bhubaneswar to Puri.
Baking
Traditionally the mixture was wrapped in sal leaves and baked in a wood-fired oven or a pit of embers for several hours. Today it is often baked in a tin in a domestic oven. The long, slow heat gives the crust its caramel flavour, while the centre stays moist and spongy. Some versions add cashews or raisins.
Where it is used
The cheeses in it
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Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.