Sugar Free Chenna poda recipe is exceptional milk sweet made with paneer and sweetener with cardamom for flavour and nuts for crunch.
Paneer is one of my favourite ingredients to make sweets. The Bengali and Odisha sweets are my most favourite. Do you like paneer sweets? Then this is definitely for you. If you love sweets, but are in search of sugar free options, then read through the post.
Chenna Poda Recipe Origins
Chenna poda literally means baked cheese (source: Wiki) Usually chenna poda is baked in Chulha, which is similar to man aduppu in Tamilnadu. But nowadays ovens make it easier to bake. We bake chenna poda on low heat for a long time to get that caramelized finish without burning it.
The first time I made Chenna poda which is years back, I added some sugar at the bottom of the pan, heated it to caramelize it and then added the dough. I omitted the step here because it is impossible to caramelize sugar free sweeteners.
Sweetener Used – Ketofy
As this is sugar free, you need a good zero calorie sweetener. I use Ketofy sweetener nowadays for all my bakes and it is nearly zero calories. But it is not a must. You can use any sweetener of your choice. But as each sweetener is different, it is better to read package instructions before using. I have used the sweetener in the ratio of 1:5, Sweetener: Sugar.
Using soft paneer is very important to get the texture right. Try malai paneer or make it at home and use. Running it through a blender or food processor ensures smoothness in the final bite.
I have used chopped almonds in the dough, but feel free to use cashew nuts or any other nut of your choice.
The cake would perfectly fit 6″ round tin or 5″ square tin. Feel free to use your favourite nuts for topping the dough.
The cake won’t rise because we haven’t used any type of leavening agents here. Once cool, it would shrink which is completely normal. This is not a soft and light cake, but a mithai that is baked.
As usual I made a small video for the recipe. Have posted it in Insta reels. Take a look at the video if you like to learn visually.
I also have a single serve sugar free chenna poda. If interested in knowing the recipe, click on the image below.
If you don’t mind using sugar, then I have the original chenna poda which also tastes amazing. Click on the below image to read the recipe.
Sugar Free Chenna poda recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g Soft malai paneer
- 30 g Almond Flour
- 30 g Ketofy Sweetener
- 1 tsp Cardamom Powder
- 30 g Chopped Almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- Mash paneer until soft and dough like.
- Add sweetener, cardamom powder, almond flour and almond and mix well.
- Line a 6” round tin and keep ready.
- Transfer the paneer mix to the tin, press with a spoon to level and add chopped pistachios.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until golden in colour.
- Remove from oven and allow the chenna poda to cool completely.
- Remove from the tin, slice it and serve.
- Store the remaining in an air tight box in fridge.
