Chenna Poda: Baked Cheese Cake

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Chenna Poda is a mouth watering Orissa sweet dish that is made with cottage cheese. Chenna Poda is also known as cheese cake or cheese pitha. It is an absolute delicious sweet dish which is very famous and delicious. The Chenna/Paneer/Cottage cheese is mixed with ghee, sugar and cardamom and baked in oven or earthen fire. The burnt smell is awesome and good to taste.

Oriyans enjoy plenty of side dishes and sweet lovers need no introduction to this Orissa's recipe, Chenna poda. This dessert can be served anytime after meal. Among other Indian sweets, chenna dishes are best known and cheese cake is very famous throughout Orissa and the nearby states. Lord Jagannath, the supreme solace's favourite desert is said to be Chenna Poda. So, without wasting a moment check out the recipe.

Chenna Poda: Baked Cheese Cake

Serves: 4-5
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

• Chenna- 1kg
• Sooji (Semolina)- ½ cup
• Castor Sugar- 2 cups (sweeten as per your liking)
• Milk- 4 tbsp
• Baking Powder- ½ tsp
• Cardamom Powder- 1 tsp (optional)
• Raisins- ½ cup or few (optional)
• Cashew- 6 pieces (broken)
• Saffron- little soaked in two tablespoon milk.
• Ghee- 5 tsp

Procedure

• Drain the extra water and completely dry the fresh cheena.
• Take a big deep bottomed bowl and add mashed fresh chenna into it. Add castor sugar and mix throughly.
• Now add sooji (semolina), ghee, milk, cardamom powder, saffron and baking powder and knead properly.
• Make a thick dough of the kneaded chenna and leave it aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Fry the dry fruits in 1tsp of ghee and pour into the dough.
• For caramelized effect take a baking tray and apply ghee on all the side. Sprinkle castor sugar into it.
• Place the applied tray above the flame for melting off the sugar and then spread the sugar evenly. Let it cool.
• After the melted sugar is cooled down, pour the chenna dough into it leaving one inch from the top.
• Bake in preheat oven for 180 'C for an hour or 350 F for 45-50 minutes, till the dough mixture turns light brown.
• To know if its soft and cooked, insert a tooth pick, a sharp knife or fork.
• Once cooked, take it out from the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes.
• Now gently take the cake out of the baking dish and cut into pieces.

Serve and enjoy your Orissa sweet dish. Cheena Poda can be refrigerated in the fridge for a week and can be enjoyed daily.