Chhena (also spelled chhana or chena) is a fresh, unpressed acid-set curd cheese from eastern India, made by curdling hot cow's milk with an edible acid, draining the whey and kneading the soft curd into a smooth, moist, slightly grainy paste. Unlike paneer, which is the same curd pressed firm, chhena is left loose and pliable, and it is above all a confectioner's ingredient — the essential base for Bengali and Odia milk sweets such as rasgulla, sandesh, rasmalai, chamcham and chhena poda.