Chhena Poda Recipe / Food Odisha / Famous Oriya Sweets
There are 2
occasions coming up on Feb 13 and Feb 14, 2018. Feb 13, 2018 is Maha Sivarathri
and Feb 14 is Valentines Day as all of you know. There is a special recipe
which suits both these occasions which I have been planning to post since long.
I thought of posting this recipe for a long time but I was waiting for the
right occasion. There could not be a better occasion more than this because
there are two reasons to celebrate.
I am talking about the famous Orissa sweet - Chenna Poda. Chhena
Poda is also known as Pitha Poda. This
famous Odia sweet is purely an Indian cake 🎂 which is made with Fresh chenna ( paneer ). This is one of
the traditional recipes of Orissa that is quite famous which is served to Lord
Jagganath in Puri. This is a very rich cake or dessert dish that is sooooo
delicious and lip smacking. My man and daughter just love this cake.
The origin of this
Indian milk cake is from the state of Orissa. I was born in Berhampur, a famous
town area in Orissa and was brought up in the capital city of Bhubaneshwar
until the age of 7 after which I moved to our own state of Andhra. But my dad made
frequent official visits to Bhubaneshwar. And there was this delicious eggless
cheesecake on his return. In that way, we were connected to this dessert.
Traditionally this is made in a big earthen pot which is cooked on a
very low flame 🔥for hours together. Since we do not have such equipment in
our homes, we can make it in an oven or even in a pressure cooker. Today, I am
gonna give the recipe that requires an oven.
Preparation
Take
milk in a big vessel and bring it to a boil.
When it is boiling, add curd to
cuddle the milk. If it doesn't curdle, add more curd and mix gently until the
whey is separated from the milk solid.
Switch off the flame immediately and
strain through a muslin cloth or a clean cotton cloth.
Do not throw the whey.
You can use it for the preparation of chapathi or any other curries. You need
not drain the water completely, it's ok even if there is a little amount of
water in the chenna. Take curdled milk ( while it is still hot ) in a bowl and beat or stir until smooth.
Add sooji and mix well until smooth.
Add sugar and mix
again until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Now add cardamom powder and mix once again. Add any nuts if you wish at this
stage and mix well. I do not like any nuts or raisins in this cake, hence I have not added any. Keep aside.
Now take a pan and heat ghee. Add sugar and
stir until it dissolves.
Immediately
switch off the flame and pour this sugar mixture in the greased baking pan.
This gives a caramalisation effect for this pitha poda. This also makes the cake so
juicy unlike the normal cakes. Now add the chenna mixture and bake at 170
degrees centigrade for 45 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the
center of the cake comes out clean. After baking, leave the cheesecake in the
oven until it cools down completely. Once it comes to room temperature, invert
the cake upside down onto a plate and cut into slices. Enjoy with family on the
auspicious occasion of Mahasivarathri.
Ingredients
Milk 2l
Sugar 1 cup
Sooji 3 tbsp.
Cardamom powder 1/4 tsp
Nuts 2 tsp
Ghee to roast sugar
1 tsp
Curd 4 tbsp.
Sugar ( for caramelisation ) 1 tsp
Method
- Curdle milk with the addition of curd at its boiling point.
- Strain the curdled0 mixture to separate the whey. Do not throw the whey.
- Take the chenna in a bowl and add sooji. Mix well until smooth.
- Now add sugar and continue mixing until the sugar is well dissolved.
- Add cardamom powder and nuts and mix. Keep aside.
- Heat ghee in a pan and add sugar. Keep stirring until it dissolves.
- Immediately, pour it in the greased pan and add the chenna mixture on it.
- Bake at 170 degrees centigrade for 45 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely in the oven. Remove on cooling and invert and slice the cake into pieces.
Notes
- Adding roasted sugar to the baking pan gives a lovely caramelising to the ricotta cheesecake. So do not skip on this step.
- The cake mixture should be smooth and like that of the normal cake mixture. Add little whey if your cake mixture is very thick.
- The original recipe calls for the addition of baking powder. But I did not feel the need of adding in my recipe. But if you wish, you can add 1/4 tsp of baking powder.
