Chhena poda recipe with step by step pics. Chhena Poda or Chenna Poda is one of the much-celebrated sweet dishes from the beautiful state of Odisha. Its made with chenna or fresh paneer, sugar and flavorings. The ingredient list of the Chhena Poda Recipe is minimal, but then, it does take some time to get done as it has to be baked. The classic preparation actually uses a chulha (small earthen/brick stove). Since at home, you bake it in an oven, it can also be referred to a paneer cake.
Chena poda literally translates to roasted cheese in the English language. Its also said that chhena poda is the favorite sweet of Lord Jagannath (The presiding deity of Puri Jagannath temple in Odisha). Chena poda is also made during festivals like Diwali or Durga puja.
A few years back I had got some recipe requests to share the chappan bhog recipes (56 dishes) that is offered to Lord Jagannath. I have the complete list of the dishes and do plan to add them one by one. So the best way is to start with a sweet dish and that too Lord Jagannath’s favorite sweet.
Making chhena poda is very easy. You will be surprised by the factor of simplicity and ease in this recipe. Unlike other baking recipes which involve two to three steps, this one is a one-bowl recipe.
Also while baking cakes things do go wrong, but you cannot go wrong when making this delicious paneer cake. That is the hallmark of this recipe. Halving, doubling and tripling the quantities of this recipe is possible.
To make chenna poda you can use fresh paneer or fresh chenna. You can even use store brought paneer. I used paneer which was made a day before. Though freshly made chenna can also be used.
I have made this recipe a couple of times and each time it has been good. When baking the sugar gets caramelized and gives such a good taste. When I started making the recipe I referred to a few cookbooks. Once I got the knack of the recipe, I adapted it largely to suit our tastebuds. The recipe can be easily halved, doubled or tripled.
In Odisha, chena poda is baked in sal leaves which gives chhena poda a distinct flavor. Since I had banana leaves, I used banana leaves to bake. Though you can even skip banana leaves and simply bake in a pan.
You can bake chenna poda in an oven and even in a pressure cooker. In a pressure cooker baking chena poda will take about 25 to 35 minutes. If you want to use a pressure cooker, then the check the method here – Cooker cake
Serve chenna poda as a sweet snack or an after meal dessert. You can even offer it your deity as bhog or naivdeyam.
If you plan to offer chena poda to your deity then use homemade paneer instead of store bought paneer and make it with devotion and love.
How to make Chenna Poda
1. Firstly line a baking pan with some chopped banana leaves. Grease the banana leaves with some ghee. You can also use butter paper or parchment paper instead of banana leaves. Or you can skip everything and just grease the pan with ghee on all sides.
Also preheat oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.
2. Then take the 250 grams of fresh paneer or chenna and crumble it very well.
3. Then add ½ cup sugar. You can also use ½ cup jaggery powder instead of sugar.
4. With clean hands mix sugar with the chenna.
5. Then continue to mash and knead the paneer or chenna like the way you would knead a chapati dough.
6. The paneer mixture has to become loose, light and with a cake batter like consistency. The more light and softer the consistency, the better the chenna poda tastes.
You can see the consistency below. I have not added any milk or water. In case the mixture looks dry, then you can add a few tablespoons of milk or water. Some amount of fat is released while mashing chenna and thats fine.
7. Once you get a batter like consistency in the paneer mixture, then add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and ½ tablespoon rice flour.
Optionally a pinch of baking soda can also be added, but does not make any difference. Instead of rice flour, you can also use fine rava (sooji). Some chopped dry fruits like cashews, almonds and raisins can also be added.
Baking chenna poda
8. Pour the chhena poda mixture in the pan. Shake the pan gently so that the chenna poda mixture spreads evenly. Level the top with a spatula.
9. Place the pan in the oven and bake chena poda for 30 to 45 minutes. If using OTG, use the toast mode and keep pan in the center. Bake chhena poda till the top crust gets a dark golden color.
Oven times vary, so do keep a check. In some ovens baking this paneer cake can even take less time. I am giving an average time that will work for most ovens.
10. Remove chhena poda from the oven once done.
11. Then check with a bamboo skewer or toothpick and it should be clean. There should be no sticky batter on the toothpick.
12. Let the chhena poda cool completely in the pan. Then remove it.
13. You can slice and then serve chhena poda. Leftover can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.
14. Serve chhena poda as dessert after meals or as a sweet snack.
More Diwali sweets
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Chhena Poda | Chenna Poda
Ingredients
- 250 grams paneer or chenna
- ½ cup sugar or 125 grams sugar or ½ cup jaggery powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ½ tablespoon Rice Flour
- cashews and raisins can be added
- 1 to 2 teaspoons Ghee or as needed for greasing tray/pan
Instructions
preparation
- Firstly line a baking pan with some chopped banana leaves. Grease the banana leaves with some ghee.
- You can also use butter paper or parchment paper instead of banana leaves. Or you can skip everything and just grease the pan with ghee on all sides.
- Also preheat oven at 180 degrees celsius for 15 minutes.
making chhena poda mixture
- Then take the 250 grams fresh paneer or chenna and crumble it very well.
- Then add ½ cup sugar. You can also use ½ cup jaggery powder instead of sugar.
- With clean hands mix sugar with the chenna.
- Then continue to mash and knead the paneer or chenna like the way you would knead a chapati dough.
- The paneer mixture has to become loose, light and with a cake batter like consistency. The more light and softer the consistency, the better the chhena poda tastes.
- I have not added any milk or water. In case the mixture looks dry, then you can add a few tablespoons of milk or water. Some amount of fat is released while mashing chenna and thats fine.
- Once you get a cake batter like consistency in the paneer mixture, then add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and ½ tablespoon rice flour. Optionally a pinch of baking soda can also be added, but does not make any difference. Instead of rice flour, you can also use fine rava (sooji). Some chopped dry fruits like cashews, almonds and raisins can also be added.
baking chhena poda
- Pour the chhena poda mixture in the pan. Shake the pan gently so that the chenna poda mixture spreads evenly. Level the top with a spatula.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake chena poda for 30 to 45 minutes. If using otg, use the toast mode and keep pan in the center. Bake chena poda till the top crust gets a dark golden color. Oven times vary, so do keep a check. In some ovens this paneer cake can even take less time. I am giving an average time that will work for most ovens.
- Remove from the oven once done.
- Then check with a bamboo skewer or toothpick and it should be clean. There should be no sticky batter on the toothpick.
- Let the paneer cake cool completely in the pan. Then remove it.
- You can slice and then serve chenna poda. Leftover can be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.
- Serve chhena poda as dessert after meals or as a sweet snack.
Notes
- The recipe can be easily halved, doubled or tripled.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
This Chhena poda recipe post from archives first published in October 2017 has been updated and republished on January 2023.
Hi, like many others, I too love your website since I can trust it blindly for measurements and procedure.
One question related to this recipe,can we use mixie instead of mashing with hands. Of course, one cannot get the granular texture if we use mixie.
thank you neera. yes, you can use mixie instead of mashing with hands. just pulse till you get a semi-fine texture. do not make smooth. if the mixer has the pulse button, then use that for some seconds. or run the mixie button for some seconds. stop, scrape the sides of the jar. close and again run the mixie for some seconds. you will get a semi-fine texture and not a smooth or pasty one.
I tried this recipe, the most simple and quick recipe for chenna poda…I enjoyed making this…. totally loved how it turned out….
Excellent recipe. I have made it multiple times. Always turned out great. I had requested you for mushroom risotto recipe some time back. Just reminding and hoping you will post it soon.
thanks khaitan. yes i know. i have made a list of recipes requested by readers. i am adding them slowly and gradually. risotto is on my to do list. so will add it this year.
can we make this chenna poda in Microwave or if we make this in cooker , can we use water instead of sea salt. Please reply
i am not sure about microwave, but can be made in a cooker. if you use water, then the chhena poda will get steamed and be like a steamed cake. i am not sure how the texture will be. so i would suggest to use salt instead of water.
Hi ma’am. Being a vegetarian I often visit your site. Always love your recipes. But this chhenapoda recipe is the best. I am an odia and eating chhenapoda since I was a kid. I followed your instructions and made the best chhenapoda. Since then I have made several times and my husband loves it. I just want to thank you sincerely for your recipes which made me a better cook than I was . Thank you. Lots of love and good wishes for your future.
thank you subhashree for the feedback and the review. i am so glad to read your feedback on the chhena poda recipe. much thanks again and wish you too all the best for your future. stay blessed.
Hi,
How many cups is 250gms of chenna?
Thanks
Srilaxmi
roughly 1 heaped cup.
Thank you so much dear for posting a popular sweet of Odisha in your blog . It will be really amazing if you make a separate category as Odia recipes including famous Odia delicious recipes .
Thank you .
welcome smruti. since i have only have chenna poda as a single odia recipe right now, i have not made any category. but i do plan to add the famous odia recipes one by one. so when i have 5 or more odia recipes, that time i will make a category of odia recipes.
Dear dassana….I m having full block of white cooking choclate…will u pl tell me 2at can I do with with that….thought of adding it to kheer once the flame is off..other than grating on top of cake how can it b used…pl guide
shubha, you can make white chocolate cookies, white chocolate fudge, mousse, pudding, white chocolate tart or pie. kheer is also a good idea. even white chocolate cake can be made. if making any of these recipes than use a recipe which has originally used white chocolate. do not substitute white chocolate with dark chocolate in any recipe as some experimentation will be required. i do not have any recipe made with white chocolate nor i have made any white chocolate based dish. otherwise i could have helped you with some recipes.
It was delicious… I made in cup cake moulds….n cooking chocolate… I grated into the cookie dough…thank u for suggesting ….waiting for ur next recipe…:-)
great and nice to know shubha. addition of chocolate is wow. i am sure it must have tasted great. which next recipe you are waiting for? from orissa or any other recipe.
Will b waiting for ur new recipes ..not specific as such…:-) recently prepared oats cookies n lauki halwa…delicious…lauki halwa tasted similar to carrot…for new yr n Christmas any cake r u planning for:-)kindly post honey cake or basbusa…
Thanks Shubha. I have noted down the cake recipe request. I will try to add them. I am soon going to add one more eggless cake recipe.
Deàr dassana..cani bake in cup cake moulds?i feel my tray is bit large for this
shubha, you can bake them in cup cake moulds. in fact even i was going to do the same, but i wanted slices to be shown in the pics, so i baked in a loaf pan. in fact all the times that i have made this recipe, i have baked in a pan. but you can easily use small to medium sized cup cake moulds. if baking in a cup cake mould then the time will be less as the quantity of paneer mixture will be less in the cup cake moulds. so just keep a check.
Thank u dassana….will try soon
Welcome Shubha
Great recipe as always. Will try soon. U r great.
Thanks Shilpi
So simple & lovely recipe.. A dish seems even more special when you know it is a bhog delicacy.
Though I was thinking how do temple pujaris bake it. Do they have some oven-like arrangement or they use some specific utensil?
thank you ruchi. i guess they have wood fired ovens or wood fired stoves in which they bake. chenna poda is baked for long hours on a low flame or low temperature like the way dal makhani is simmered overnight. along with chhena poda, a few more baked delicacies are also offered to lord jagannath.
I am glad that you did this Chenna poda recipe. I am big fan of yours and I am from Orissa. Thank u so much
Welcome Subha. Thanks for your kind words.