Hoppers Recipe

(appa)

RECIPES OF SRI LANKA

Hoppers are small bowl-shaped rice flour pancakes which are eaten with curries and sambals. Although the traditional method of preparing them requires placing a hopper pan on hot coals (with more coals on its lid), hoppers may be cooked on regular stoves. Hopper pans are readily available from Indian and Sri Lankan food stores. It is usual to serve each person one hopper with and egg baked in its center and the rest plain.

Ingredients :

500 g

500 ml

200 ml

2 tsp

60 ml

Rice flour

Thick coconut milk

Thin coconut milk

Sugar

Kitul palm toddy ( OR 10g fresh yeast OR 1 tsp dried yeast)

Salt to taste

Method :

• Combine the rice flour, toddy ( or yeast ), sugar and thin coconut milk in a mixing bowl and stir well to form a thick batter.

• Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave to stand overnight or at least 8 hours, by which time the batter should have doubled in volume.

• Soften the expanded batter by working in the salt and the thick coconut milk to form a thinner batter.

• Heat and greased a hopper pan over low heat.

• Pour a large spoonful of batter into the pan and pick up the pan by both handles and swirl the pan so that the batter rides up the sides almost to the rim ( Use oven gloves of pot holders ).

• Replace the pan over the heat and cover with a saucepan lid and cook until the surface of the hopper at the bottom is almost firm and the sides are crispy and brown. This should take no more than 5 minutes.

• Remove the hopper with a metal spatula ( a curved instrument would be ideal ) and serve hot.

• Grease pan again and repeat with the remaining batter.