Chhena Poda

Odisha's most celebrated sweet — fresh chhena (paneer) kneaded with sugar, cardamom, and a little semolina, packed into a leaf-lined vessel and slow-baked over a wood fire or in an oven until the exterior is deeply caramelised to a dark mahogany brown and the interior is dense and moist. The Odia word means 'burnt cheese'; the controlled burning produces a bitter-sweet, intensely caramelised crust unlike any other Indian sweet. Invented in Nayagarh district and now GI-tagged as an Odisha product; offered as prasadam at Jagannath temple.