Chhenapoda Dibasa: Odisha Celebrates Its Signature Sweet Dish; Check The Posts

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has stepped up its demand for GI tag for its accidental dessert by celebrating Chhenapoda Dibasa on April 11 every year.

It is the birth anniversary of Sudarsan Sahu, the genius behind this signature sweet dish of the state.

Accidental because 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 Chhenapoda, 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 delectable sweet dish.

In honour of the inventor of the sweetmeat and to popularise it, Odisha began trending # ChhenapodaDibasa for the first time in 2022. And the celebration got bigger in 2023 with a Chhenapoda anthem, composed and choreographed by Abhijit Mishra. 

This year too, netizens, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, are celebrating this cherished part of Odisha’s culinary heritage with posts on social media. Check here

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”or” dir=”ltr”>‘ଛେନାପୋଡ଼’ ଆମର ଆବେଗ ସହ ଜଡ଼ିତ। ପାରମ୍ପରିକ ମିଠା ଭାବେ ଏହା ଆମ ଖାଦ୍ୟ ବିବିଧତାକୁ ସମୃଦ୍ଧ କରିଛି। ଆସନ୍ତୁ ‘ଛେନାପୋଡ଼’ ଦିବସକୁ ସମସ୍ତେ ମିଶି ଖୁସିରେ ପାଳନ କରିବା ଏବଂ ଏହାକୁ ଆହୁରି ସୁଦୂରପ୍ରସାରୀ କରିବା। <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChhenapodaDibasa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ChhenapodaDibasa</a> <a href=”https://t.co/THWItI86Os”>pic.twitter.com/THWItI86Os</a></p>&mdash; Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Naveen_Odisha/status/1778315137348178004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Move over Basque Cheesecake, there&#39;s a new global 🌏sensation:<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chhenapoda?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Chhenapoda</a>! 🧀<br><br>Recreated by Ranveer❤️@ <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/EastEye?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#EastEye</a> Food Conclave in <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bhubaneswar?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Bhubaneswar</a>, this <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Odisha?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Odisha</a> delight is set 2 conquer Europe&#39;s taste buds!<br><br>Get ready 4 a sweet revolution! 😋<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChhenapodaDibasa?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ChhenapodaDibasa</a> ❤️<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/GlobalDessert?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#GlobalDessert</a> <a href=”https://t.co/p4lOjzQmHY”>pic.twitter.com/p4lOjzQmHY</a></p>&mdash; Devasis Sarangi 🚴‍♂️𝕏 (@devasissarangi) <a href=”https://twitter.com/devasissarangi/status/1777650801684439318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 9, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>An important day for this delicious dessert from the beautiful state of <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Odisha?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Odisha</a>! Information courtesy, <a href=”https://twitter.com/riteshmisra?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@riteshmisra</a>! <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/dessert?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#dessert</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chhenapoda?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Chhenapoda</a> <a href=”https://t.co/AK3DCmF5dW”>pic.twitter.com/AK3DCmF5dW</a></p>&mdash; Ananth Rupanagudi (@Ananth_IRAS) <a href=”https://twitter.com/Ananth_IRAS/status/1778307266271379733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”und” dir=”ltr”>Happy Chhenapoda Dibasa to all – April 11th !!<br><br>ସମସ୍ତଙ୍କୁ ଛେନାପୋଡ଼ ଦିବସର ଅନେକ ଅନେକ ଶୁଭେଚ୍ଛା!<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/%E0%AC%9B%E0%AD%87%E0%AC%A8%E0%AC%BE%E0%AC%AA%E0%AD%8B%E0%AC%A1%E0%AC%BC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ଛେନାପୋଡ଼</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/%E0%AC%A8%E0%AD%9F%E0%AC%BE%E0%AC%97%E0%AC%A1?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ନୟାଗଡ</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChhenaPoda?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#ChhenaPoda</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nayagarh?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Nayagarh</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Odisha?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Odisha</a> <a href=”https://t.co/K3ghpuKXRp”>pic.twitter.com/K3ghpuKXRp</a></p>&mdash; Tarani Trotter (@TaraniTrotter) <a href=”https://twitter.com/TaraniTrotter/status/1778267169153003545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>April 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>