Chenna
/ˈtʃɛn.ə/noun
A soft, fresh cheese made by curdling milk, especially in eastern India and Bangladesh.
Did you know?Chenna is the fresh cheese traditionally used to make rasgulla and sandesh, while its underlying Sanskrit root is connected with the act of splitting or separating.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*skeid-
“To split, cut, or separate”
Sanskrit
Sanskrit
chिद् / chid-
“To split, cut, or cleave”
Classical Sanskrit
Sanskrit
chinna
“Split, divided, or broken; the past participle of chid-”
Medieval period
Odia
chhena
“Fresh curdled cheese, literally associated with separated or curdled milk”
Modern English
English
chenna
“A fresh, soft cheese used in South Asian cooking”