HOPPERS |SRI LANKAN PANCAKES
Hoppers or Sri Lankan Pancakes are bowl shaped with a soft, spongy centre and crispy edges. They are made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk. Also known as Appa, or simply appam. They are served for breakfast with an egg in the middle or enjoyed with a curry. To make hoppers you need a special hopper pan which is also known as thachhiya.
Ingredients
FOR THE HOPPER BATTER
- 2 cups rice flour
- 3 cups coconut milk
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- ¾ - 1 cup water
- 2 tsp dry active yeast
FOR THE POL SAMBOL
- 1 cup fresh coconut grated
- 1 small onion cubed
- 4-6 whole dry red chillis
- 2-3 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
Instructions
PREPARE THE BATTER
- Heat about ¼ cup water from the measured water till it is lukewarm.
- Add sugar and stir.
- Sprinkle the yeast over it. Cover and let it ferment for 10 minutes.
- The mixture should be frothy. If not then the yeast is too old.
- Add the yeast mixture and coconut milk to the rice flour.
- Whisk it well so that no lumps are left and you have a smooth thick batter.
- Add salt and water little by little. Whisk it well. The batter should be a little thinner than a pancake batter.
- Cover the batter and leave it in a warm place to ferment for 1 hour. The batter will become frothy and will be double in size.
PREPARE THE HOPPERS
- Gently, mix it. If the batter is too thick, add little water.
- Heat a small hopper pan(wok, thachhiya) over medium to low heat.
- Brush the hopper pan with little oil. Don't add too much.
- Pour a ladleful or ¼ cup of the batter into the centre of the pan.
- Swirl the pan around so that the batter coats the sides of the pan.
- Let it cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Cover and cook further for 1-2 minutes so that the middle spongy part of the pancake or hopper gets cooked.
- The hopper is ready when the sides begin to brown and it starts to pull away from the pan.
- Serve hot hopper immediately with a curry of your choice.
HOW TO MAKE HOPPERS WITH EGGS
- Heat the hopper pan.
- Brush it with little oil.
- Add about ¼ cup of the batter into the centre of the pan.
- Swirl the pan around so that the batter coats the sides of the pan.
- Immediately break an egg in the middle of the hopper.
- Cover the pan.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes or till the egg is done.
- Serve with some Pol Sambol.
HOW TO MAKE POL SAMBOL
- Add all the ingredients for Pol Sambol to a blender jar or jug.
- Process to a smooth paste.
- Transfer the Pol Sambol to a serving bowl.
Notes
- If the batter is too thick it will not be easy to swirl it and coat it on the sides of the pan. Always do a test run to see if you can swirl the batter around easily. If not add little water.
- You can drizzle extra oil on the sides so that the sides become really crispy.
- It is best to serve the hoppers hot as cold ones don't taste that good. The sides tend to go soft.
- As the batter ferments further it becomes thicker and you may need to add some water.