Chhena Poda — Odisha's baked, caramelised fresh-cheese cake

i. Origin & history

Odisha is one of the great homes of chhena sweets. The state, along with neighbouring Bengal, has a long tradition of making desserts from fresh curdled milk cheese, and Odias claim a deep history for them, with sweets such as rasagola linked to the Jagannath temple in Puri. Chhena poda is one of the most distinctive, because it is one of the few traditional Indian sweets that is baked rather than fried, boiled or simmered.

The most widely told origin story is set in the town of Nayagarh in the early-to-mid twentieth century, where a confectioner named Sudarshan Sahoo is said to have added sugar to leftover chhena one night and left it in an oven still warm from the day's cooking. In the morning he found a caramelised, cake-like sweet. The tale is repeated in Odisha's press and by its sweet makers, and Nayagarh and its surrounding area are still regarded as the home of the best chhena poda, though the details of the story come from local tradition.

Traditionally, chhena poda is baked in a wood-fired or charcoal oven, often in a vessel lined with sal or banana leaves, for several hours. The slow heat gives a thick, dark, caramelised crust and a smoky aroma, while the interior stays soft. Sweet shops across Odisha sell it by weight, cut from large round cakes, and it is a popular offering to Lord Jagannath and a favourite at festivals and weddings.

Chhena poda is related to other Odia chhena sweets, such as chhena gaja (fried chhena blocks in syrup), chhena jhili and rasabali, and to Bengal's sandesh and rasgulla. It is often compared to Western baked cheesecakes, but has no crust, no eggs and no cream cheese.

ii. Why the 'burnt' crust is the point

The flavour of chhena poda comes from its crust. During a long bake, the sugar in the mixture caramelises, and the proteins and milk sugar (lactose) in the chhena undergo the Maillard reaction, the same browning that gives toast and roast meat their flavour. Together they produce a thick, dark-brown, slightly chewy crust with deep caramel, toffee and toasted-milk notes. This is why the cake is baked much longer and darker than most cakes; pale chhena poda tastes flat.

The chhena itself must be right. It is made by curdling hot milk with an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, which causes the milk protein casein to coagulate into soft curds while the watery whey separates. The curds are drained, then kneaded by hand until smooth. Kneading breaks the curds into a fine, smooth paste, which gives the baked cake its soft, even crumb. Chhena that is too wet makes a soggy cake; chhena that is too dry makes it crumbly.

Semolina plays a small but important role. It absorbs excess moisture from the chhena during baking and binds the mixture, giving the cake a little structure and a slightly grainy texture. Too much makes it heavy; too little and the cake may weep liquid.

Finally, ghee in the mixture and in the tin enriches the cake and helps the outside brown evenly. Some home cooks melt a little sugar into a caramel at the bottom of the tin before adding the mixture, imitating the deep crust of a wood-fired oven.

iii. Ingredients

Makes 8 servings · scroll the side panel to adjust

• 2000 ml full-fat milk
• 4 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar, mixed with 4 tbsp water
• 110 g sugar
• 25 g fine semolina
• ½ tsp ground green cardamom
• 2 tbsp ghee, melted, plus extra for the tin
• 2 tbsp cashews, chopped
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1 tbsp sugar, for caramelising the tin (optional)

Two litres of full-fat milk yields about 400 g of chhena; cow's milk gives the softest result. You can buy fresh paneer and crumble it, but it is firmer and less moist than fresh chhena, and the cake will be denser; knead it with a couple of tablespoons of milk. Lemon juice or vinegar curdles the milk; rinse the curds well to remove any sourness. Semolina binds the mixture; some recipes use a little rice flour instead. The sugar can be reduced slightly, but it is needed for the caramelised crust.

iv. Method

1. Bring the milk to a boil in a large pan, then turn off the heat. Add the diluted lemon juice or vinegar a little at a time, stirring gently, until the milk splits into soft white curds and greenish whey.
2. Pour into a sieve lined with muslin, rinse the curds under cold water to remove the acidity, then gather the cloth and squeeze out excess water. Hang it for 30–45 minutes until the chhena is moist but not dripping.
3. Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), or 160 °C fan. Grease a 15–18 cm round cake tin with ghee and line the base. If you like, sprinkle 1 tbsp sugar over the base and melt it in the oven for a few minutes to make a thin caramel.
4. Put the chhena on a clean work surface and knead it with the heel of your hand for 5–8 minutes until smooth and creamy, with no grainy lumps.
5. Mix in the sugar, semolina, cardamom, melted ghee, cashews and raisins. Let the mixture rest for 15–20 minutes so the semolina absorbs moisture.
6. Spread the mixture in the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 50–60 minutes, until the top and sides are deep golden-brown to dark brown and the cake is firm to the touch.
7. Let it cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then run a knife round the edge and turn it out. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

v. Tips & common mistakes

• Rinse the chhena. Lemon or vinegar left in the curds makes the cake taste sour.
• Do not over-drain the chhena. It should be moist and soft. Dry chhena makes a crumbly, dense cake.
• Knead until smooth. Grainy chhena gives a grainy cake; five minutes of kneading makes a big difference.
• Rest the mixture. Letting the semolina absorb moisture before baking helps the cake set evenly and prevents weeping.
• Bake it dark. The caramelised crust is the defining feature. A pale chhena poda lacks flavour; aim for deep brown.
• Cool before cutting. Hot chhena poda is soft and falls apart; it firms as it cools.

vi. Variations

In Odisha, chhena poda is sometimes made with jaggery instead of sugar for a darker, more molasses-like flavour. Some cooks add grated coconut or fennel seeds. Modern bakers make chhena poda cupcakes, add saffron or mango pulp, or bake it in a pressure cooker or on the stove in a heavy covered pan, which mimics a slow oven.

Other chhena sweets on DessertCat include Bengal's sandesh, the spongy rasgulla and the rich rasmalai. For baked cheesecakes from other cuisines, compare Poland's sernik and Germany's käsekuchen.

vii. Serving & storage

Chhena poda is served in wedges or squares, warm or at room temperature, on its own. In Odisha it is eaten as a sweet with tea, offered at temples and served at festivals and weddings. It is rich, so small pieces are enough.

It keeps for a day at cool room temperature and up to four days in the fridge, covered. Warm slices briefly before serving to soften them. Chhena poda can be frozen for up to a month; thaw it in the fridge.

ix. More from Indian & South Asian

• Rasgulla — spongy chhena balls in syrup
• Sandesh — Bengali chhena fudge
• Rasmalai — chhena in saffron milk
• Mishti Doi — caramelised sweet yoghurt
• Sernik — Polish baked cheesecake
• Käsekuchen — German quark cheesecake