Paanda is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic French-inspired forcemeat of breadcrumbs cooked with milk, ham, herbs mushrooms, white stock and egg yolks until almost dry and which is classically used to make quenelles. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Paanda.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
PAandA.
420. INGREDIENTS.—The crumb of 2 penny rolls, 4 tablespoonfuls of white stock, No. 107, 1 oz. of butter, 1 slice of ham, 1 bay-leaf, a little minced parsley, 2 shalots, 1 clove, 2 blades of mace, a few mushrooms (when obtainable), butter, the yolks of 2 eggs.
Mode.—Soak the crumb of the rolls in milk for about 1/2 hour, then take it out, and squeeze so as to press the milk from it; put the soaked bread into a stewpan with the above quantity of white stock, and set it on one side; then put into a separate stewpan 1 oz. of butter, a slice of lean ham cut small, with a bay-leaf, herbs, mushrooms, spices, &c., in the above proportions, and fry them gently over a slow fire. When done, moisten with 2 teacupfuls of white stock, boil for 20 minutes, and strain the whole through a sieve over the paanda in the other stewpan. Place it over the fire, keep constantly stirring, to prevent its burning, and when quite dry, put in a small piece of butter. Let this again dry up by stirring over the fire; then add the yolks of 2 eggs, mix well, put the paanda to cool on a clean plate, and use it when required. Paanda should always be well flavoured, as the forcemeat receives no taste from any of the other ingredients used in its preparation.
Modern Redaction
This recipe calls for a 'penny bun'. This was a common loaf size in Victorian times and typically weighed 5oz (150g). As a result this weight of breadcrumbs has been substituted in the redaction below.
Ingredients:
300g breadcrumbs
200ml milk
4 tbsp white stock
30g butter
1 slice of ham, finely diced
1 bayleaf
1 tsp parsley, finely minced
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 clove
2 blades of mace
4 mushrooms, finely sliced
500ml white stock
2 tsp butter
2 egg yolks
Method:
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for about 30 minutes then drain and squeeze as dry as possible. Transfer to a stewpan then pour in the white stock before setting aside.
In a separate pan, combine the butter, ham, bayleaf, parsley, mushrooms, shallots and the spices. Fry gently over low heat until the onions are golden. Pour over the 500ml white stock, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
After this time, take off the heat and pour through a sieve so that the liquid flows over the breadcrumb mixture in the other pan. Place the pan with the breadcrumb mix over gentle heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the crumbs are completely dry. Now stir in the 2 tsp butter and continue cooking until the crumbs are completely dry once again.
Take off the heat and stir in the egg yolks then turn the mixture onto a plate and set aside to cool. Use as needed, typically for making French forcemeat quenelles.
