Wake the yeast Stir the yeast and the sugar into the lukewarm water, then leave it until the top turns foamy.
02
Blend the base batter Blend the rice flour, the cooked rice, the yeast mixture and two hundred millilitres of water until the batter is completely smooth and thick, like pancake batter.
03
Ferment overnight Pour the batter into a large bowl, cover it loosely and leave it somewhere warm until it has roughly doubled and smells pleasantly sour.
04
Thin with coconut milk Stir the thick coconut milk, the salt and the baking soda into the fermented batter until it is the thickness of pouring cream, then let it rest.
05
Heat the hopper pan Heat a small hopper pan, called an appachatti, over medium high heat, then wipe the inside with a little coconut oil on a folded paper towel.
06
Swirl in the batter Pour about a quarter cup of batter into the centre of the pan, then lift the pan by its handles and swirl it in one quick circle so the batter coats the sides thinly.
07
Cover and cook Put the pan back on the heat, turn it down to medium low, cover it with the lid and cook until the edges are golden and crisp and the centre looks set and spongy.
08
Lift out and repeat Loosen the edges with a thin spatula, lift the hopper out, wipe the pan with a little more oil, and repeat with the rest of the batter.
09
Serve hot Serve the hoppers straight away, while the edges are still crisp, with pol sambol, seeni sambol or a chicken or fish curry.
Appa, known in English as hoppers, are bowl-shaped pancakes from Sri Lanka made from a fermented rice flour and coconut milk batter. They have lacy, crisp edges and a soft, spongy centre. Sri Lankans eat them for breakfast or as an evening meal, usually with pol sambol or a curry.
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Method
1
Wake the yeast
Stir the yeast and the sugar into the lukewarm water, then leave it until the top turns foamy.
If nothing foams after ten minutes, the yeast is dead or the water was too hot. Start again with fresh yeast. Traditionally a splash of fresh coconut toddy is used instead of yeast. If you can get it, use about half a cup in place of the yeast mixture.
Wake the yeast · 10 min
2
Blend the base batter
Blend the rice flour, the cooked rice, the yeast mixture and two hundred millilitres of water until the batter is completely smooth and thick, like pancake batter.
3
Ferment overnight
Pour the batter into a large bowl, cover it loosely and leave it somewhere warm until it has roughly doubled and smells pleasantly sour.
Use a bowl at least three times the volume of the batter, because it rises and bubbles a lot in warm weather. In a cold kitchen it may need a few more hours.
Ferment overnight · 480 min
4
Thin with coconut milk
Stir the thick coconut milk, the salt and the baking soda into the fermented batter until it is the thickness of pouring cream, then let it rest.
If the batter is too thick, the hoppers will not have thin crisp edges. Add a spoonful of water at a time until it pours easily.
Thin with coconut milk · 30 min
5
Heat the hopper pan
Heat a small hopper pan, called an appachatti, over medium high heat, then wipe the inside with a little coconut oil on a folded paper towel.
A small round-bottomed wok or a deep non-stick pan about eighteen centimetres across can stand in for an appachatti.
Heat the hopper pan · 2 min
6
Swirl in the batter
Pour about a quarter cup of batter into the centre of the pan, then lift the pan by its handles and swirl it in one quick circle so the batter coats the sides thinly.
Swirl straight away. If you wait, the batter sets on the bottom and the edges will not form.
7
Cover and cook
Put the pan back on the heat, turn it down to medium low, cover it with the lid and cook until the edges are golden and crisp and the centre looks set and spongy.
If the edges brown before the centre sets, lower the heat a little for the next one.
Cover and cook · 3 min
8
Lift out and repeat
Loosen the edges with a thin spatula, lift the hopper out, wipe the pan with a little more oil, and repeat with the rest of the batter.
Stir the batter gently every few hoppers, because the flour settles to the bottom.
9
Serve hot
Serve the hoppers straight away, while the edges are still crisp, with pol sambol, seeni sambol or a chicken or fish curry.