Bhubaneswar: Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who was recently in Odisha to perform at Jajpur Mahotsav, shared a picture of a popular sweet delicacy of the state and wrote: “The dark side of chena poda successfully dilutes the dark side of mine (sic).”
The Vicky Donor actor was reportedly blown away by its sublime taste.
Following his tweet, which has garnered over 464k views and tons of reactions, people expressed their wish to try the cheese dessert while those from Odisha declared their love for the sweet dish known for its typical lingering taste.
The dark side of chena poda successfully dilutes the dark side of mine. pic.twitter.com/5gk6rIwktA
— Ayushmann Khurrana (@ayushmannk) February 15, 2023
Impressed with the taste of Chhena Poda Ayushmann shared a similar post on Chhena Poda after visiting Bhubaneswar for a concert with his band ‘AyushmannBhava’ in 2018.
Notably, Odisha began celebrating the accidental dessert by observing April 11 as Chhena Poda Dibasa last year as a tribute to its creator on his birth anniversary.
Accidental because Sudarshan Sahu, who owned a sweet shop at Dasapalla in Nayagarh, left sugar-infused chhena or cottage cheese with cardamon and cashew seasonings in a charcoal oven overnight and discovered an exquisitely delicious delicacy, which gave the state a distinct identity and flavour, the following morning. He slowly perfected Chhena Poda, which literally means burnt cheese, with a caramelised crust. By baking it wrapped in sal leaves, he gave the cardamom-scented cottage cheesecake a distinct aroma.
It brought him a lot of fame over the years, with the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru also appreciating the dish.
Chhena Poda is easily the state’s best-known sweetmeat and the showstopper dessert among Odia sweet dishes with takers all over the world. It is also offered to Lord Jagannath at Srimandir in Puri. And there has been a demand for a GI tag for the sweet dish.
It was featured in the culture-centric television channel, EPIC, in its Raja, Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyaan series that chronicles the discovery of many dishes of India and their history, hosted by celebrity chef Ranveer Brar, in 2018.
