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Showing posts with label chenna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chenna. Show all posts

Friday, November 19, 2021

Dahi Chenna : The lesser known Chenna from Odisha






















Dahi Chenna, the cheese procured from the spent curds after butter has been extracted. Pinkish brown-hued, chewy, and with a slight note of sourness, it acquires a unique character by virtue of fermentation and the hours of slow cooking done on a wooden fire. A uniqueness that is apparent in the very first bite. It's the complexity of its flavor that sets it apart from the more easily available 'Dudh Chenna' or cheese obtained simply by splitting the milk. 

Interestingly, this was one ingredient I discovered by taste rather than sight when I unsuspectingly bit into a 'Chenna Manda' at a relative's place. Perplexed by the 'chenna' stufffing that did not have that underlying 'milky-ness' to it, I had asked the host about the ingredients of the stuffing and learned something new. A lot of years have passed since then. I did not get another opportunity to taste it until last week when a relative came from my in-laws native bearing gifts of homemade ghee and the most delicious 'Dahi Chenna'. 

Most of it was turned into 'Chenna Kakara' as expected and the last bit of it was mixed with parched rice for breakfast. Induced into a state of nostalgia, the kind of which is mostly acquired by good food, the MIL reminisced her childhood days when 'Dahi chenna' was easily available and almost a breakfast staple for most Brahmin families. Made possible by the easy availability of good quality milk and free firewood procured by backyards trees and coconut and palm groves, it seemed the best way to make use of the huge quantities of spent curds produced at home. But with firewood becoming more and more inaccessible and adulterated milk on the rise, it is becoming increasingly rare for people to make it at home. Seasoned 'Gudiyas' or the 'Gaudas' who still have access to good milk and firewood share that apart from these two, the 'Dahi Chenna' gets its complex flavors from the earthen pots and some of the liquid that has been retained to add to the next lot. 






















But the USP of the 'Dahi Chenna' is not just taste or texture for that matter. Being lighter on the stomach as most of the fat has been extracted during the churning and with a greater shelf life, it was more coveted among the two types of cheese prevalent in Coastal Odisha. Its exalted status is reflected in its usage in the various 'pitha's made during various occasions like Manabasa Gurubar, Bada Osa and Prathamastami. This custom is now seriously threatened by the unavailability of the Dahi Chenna and most people have taken to using regular Chenna instead.







Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Chenna Gajja

Unlike the Pahala Rasgulla, whose fame has breached the frontiers of the state, another sweet from the same region remains little known even within Odisha. The Chenna Gajja or fried version of the Ragulla is equally delicious but very different from the latter in taste and texture.

If you have ever been to Pahala, then you might have seen these rust brown beauties arranged in a lovely stacked fashion in front of the numerous shop that also sell the rasgulla. Since the ragullas are busy swimming in large cauldrons hidden from the public view, it is the Chenna gajja that actually catches the eye of every passerby.

Read on for the recipe -



















Preparation Time - 40-45 mins

Ingredients -


  • 1/2 liter whole milk
  • 1 tbsp semolina ( though I use very little just enough for binding )
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 pinch cardamom powder
  • 1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
  • Oil,for deep frying

Preparation -Bring the milk to boil on a medium flame in a thick bottomed vessel. Once it gets to a rolling boil, keep on the flame for another 2-3 minute.

Dilute the vinegar with 1/2 cup water.

Remove from flame and keep aside for 4-5 minutes. Add the diluted vinegar to one corner of the vessel till the milk shows signs of curdling. Using a spatula, mix the contents of the vessel thoroughly till the greenish water (whey) and milk solids (chenna) get completely separated. ( You might not need to add the entire cup of citric acid but use sufficient amount needed to split the milk )

Place a thin cloth on a metal strainer ( Do not use  plastic as the mixture is still very hot at this point ). Pour the contents of the vessel over it. Wash the chenna under running water for 2 minutes to remove all traces of citric acid. Bundle/gather the corners of the cloth and squeeze out all the water but do not squeeze too hard.
Hang it for 1 hour.

Remove the cloth and place the chenna on your sanitised kitchen counter / chopping board. Start kneading it with the heel of your palms. Then gather the chenna into a ball and start kneading again. Do this for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the suji and powdered cardamom over the kitchen counter. Work them into the dough. Knead till you can no longer feel the graininess of the suji. The dough will start looking like an orange peel by this time with a dimpled appearance ( reminded me of cellulite which such (and also on the kneading surface).

Divide the dough into 7-8 portion. Shape each portion like a rectangle.


















Heat oil for deep frying a wok. Gently put the pieces into the hot oil and fry to a golden color on both the sides. Remove and keep on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.



















Take the sugar in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 7 mins or till it takes on a thick consistency. This syrup will be quite thicker than the Pahala rasgulla syrup.

Remove from the flame and put the fried chenna gajja in the syrup. Let it be immersed for 1 hour or till the syrup feels just warm to touch.

Serve immedaitely.







Note - For a thicker and more crusty coating on sugar, allow the sugar syrup to become still thicker. Put in the chenna gajja for 1-2 mins, remove and allow it to dry outside for the sugar layer to form.




Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Potali Pitha

Potali Pitha is traditional prasad or offering at the Shri Baladev Ji Mandir in Kendrapara. If you are a nature lover of sorts, then you must be aware of this nondescript district of Odisha. It houses the famous Bhitarkanika National Park, home to the endangered Saltwater crocodiles and quite a few other species of animals. This region is also home to a lush and thriving mangrove population, which covers an area of 650 square kilometers on the delta formed by rivers Brahmani and Baitarini.

This was the first time I got a chance to savor this delicacy and i quite liked it. It has quite a familiar flavour ( sweet with notes of edible camphor) that most of our pithas ( especially ones made for prasadam ) have. More specifically, I would say it tastes like a cross between a sweet atta chakuli and a kakara. While I haven't tried making it at home, I got the recipe from one of the regular visitors to this temple ( the same person who got the Pithas for us ). Read on for the recipe ( Loved the original packaging very much...have clicked the picture in the same...a leaf basket ):

















For the pancakes (outer layer of the Pitha):
2 cups maida ( all purpose flour )
1 tsp ghee (warm)
a pinch of salt

For the stuffing:
1 cup chenna,
1 cup freshly grated coconut,
5-6 tsp sugar
1 pinch of camphor
2 green cardamon powdered
2 tsp ghee

2-3 tbs whole wheat flour
2-3 tbs molasses (this is a form of liquid jaggery)
More ghee for frying.

Preparation - Take the maida, salt and warm ghee in a mixing bowl. Add enough water to make a pancake batter. Mix carefully to remove lumps if any.

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing (except for ghee in another bowl). Keep aside.

Mix the whole wheat flour, molasses and a little water in a separate bowl. Keep aside.

Cooking - Heat a wok. Add 2 tsp ghee. Add the stuffing mixture and roast on medium flame for 2-3 minutes. Remove from flame and allow to cool down.

Heat a tawa or frying pan. Rub in a little ghee for greasing the surface.

Take a ladle of the maida batter and pour on the tawa. Roll the tawa or use the ladle to spread the batter evenly into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Drizzle with more ghee.

Spread some of the stuffing on one half of circle. Fold the circle into half and apply gentle pressure to close the pitha ( Or one can use some of the batter as a glue ).Flip over and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Remove from flame and allow to cool down a bit. Make more such stuffed pancakes with the remaining batter and stuffing.

Now dip each pancake/pitha in the wheat flour-molasses mixture and place on a heated tawa/frying pan. Drizzle and fry each side with more ghee to get a lovely deep brown color.





Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Chenna Jhili ( Cheese balls in a light sugary syrup )

Along the much traveled road between Bhubaneshwar and Puri, lies a little discovered world of gastronomic delights. Small 'chalia' hotels dot this stretch and offer a wide variety of Odiya delicacies. One can eat to his/her heart's content without burning a hole in the pocket.

On our previous trip to Puri, we chanced upon one such foodie haven. We had halted by the 'Bata Mangala' temple to offer our regards to the deity. Hunger pangs were hitting us hard and we duly proceeded to one of the hotels after offering worship. The waiter ( if i can so call the urchin who was serving us ) was prompt to take the orders and the food was laid on our table in another five minutes. We had settled for 'Puri-buta dalma' and it turned out to be excellent. We could not
resist going for a second helping.

Once finished, we started looking around for dessert. This huge cauldron of 'Chenna Jhili' sitting next to the cashier was beckoning at us. Once started, we did not finish before wolfing down a dozen of these cuties among the three of us. With our appetites satiated, we proceeded towards our destination.

Anyone who has visited the Puri-Jagannath temple would always remember being over-whelmed by this huge sea of humanity that stalks this place throughout the year. It is one of the char-dhams, the four places that every Hindu is supposed to visit in his lifetime. Jostling the crowds and the ever rude ( or should i say obnoxious ) Pandas, we managed to get a darshan ( mind it...the queqes here operate in a round robin method...no standing and savoring the sight of the Lord being permitted ). For the uninformed, the Puri 'Pandas' are not to be mistaken for the Pandas, the latter being a friendly and lovable lot. The former are special priests who offer worship in the Jaganaath temple and are known to fleece people. Want to break a coconut, put in Rs'XX', want to get close to the lord, put in Rs'YY', and so on.

I was feeling a little low after my husband's run-in with one of these people. But once we hit the road, these thoughts were duly banished. Visiting the beaches is sacrosanct on a trip to Puri. The golden sands were as inviting as ever and we frolicked among the waves for a good two hours. With appetites all whetted up, we started off on the return journey. There were more delights to be discovered on the way back.















Here is the recipe for 'Chenna jhili':

Preparation Time - 20 mins

Ingredients- whole milk ( 1 litre ), maida ( 1 tsp ), powdered sugar ( 2 tsp ), sugar ( 1 3/4 cups ), cardamon (2 nos), oil/ghee for deep frying.

Cooking -

To prepare chenna - Bring milk to a boil. Add the sour curd and wait for a few minutes till the milk solids separate from whey. The whey should have a clear appearance at this point. If not add more curd and boil for another 5 mins.

Once all the solids separate, strain the chenna using a fine cloth or even a strainer with very fine mesh. Allow to stand for sometime till excess water is drained.

Around the same time, dissolve the sugar in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil on medium flame. Crush the cardamon and add to the vessel. We need a very light sugar syrup, so it takes about 7-8 minutes. Remove from flame just before it reaches a stringy consistency.















Take the chenna in a vessel/mixing bowl and add the maida and powdered sugar. Crumble and knead the chenna to remove lumps and it just comes together into a soft dough ( takes about 5-6 mins, do not overdo the kneading ). Pinch small lumps out of the dough and shape into balls. These balls can either be shallow fried or deep fried.

Heat sufficient oil/ghee in a wok. Put one ball into the wok and test if it holds together. If yes, add the remaining balls into the wok and fry them to a brown color on medium heat. (If it starts to crumble/break, add little more maida to the chenna dough and knead for another 2-3 mins.)

Once the balls are fried, put them into the vessel containing the hot sugar syrup. Allow to stand for an hour or so.































Serve with a garnish of chopped almonds or as it is.


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