1982–1987
Chapter 2: Getting it right
2024The Chhena Poda recipe settled in 1982, after years of trying. Chhena Poda is a slow-roasted cheese cake, caramelised on top, and the whole difficulty of it is the char: too little and it is a milk cake, too much and it is bitter.
The issue
Chhena Poda is the one sweet in Odisha that cannot be rushed. Fresh chhena, sugar and semolina go into a lined tin and the tin goes into a low oven for hours. The top has to darken to the point where the sugar has caramelised into the cheese without burning through it.
The years before 1982 were spent failing at exactly that. Getting a top that looked right but a middle that was dry. Getting a soft middle but a pale top that tasted of nothing. The version that finally worked is the version still made today, and it is why the oven is lit before anything else in the morning.
Around 1982, as best anyone remembers, is the honest way to date it. It was not written down at the time. What is certain is that by the middle of the decade people were coming to Sunabeda specifically for it.
What changed: The oven, The tin size, The quantity roasted each morning.
What never changed: The recipe, Roasting it slowly rather than hot, Making it fresh every morning.
Why we publish the history rather than a blog
Every chapter here carries a date, a number or a document — and says so plainly when a year is only approximate. That is a harder thing to write than an adjective, and it is the only kind of history worth reading from a shop.