Hoppers and Pol Sambol (Coconut Sambol)

Hoppers

- Serves 5-6
​This an easy recipe for the otherwise difficult traditional recipe for Srilankan hoppers. Hoppers or Appa are crispy crepes that Sri-Lankans generally have for breakfast with a topping of egg or for dinner with curry. The thin, crispy crepe is made by grinding and fermenting rice with water, but my easy version here takes away the lengthy process of soaking and grinding rice from scratch. My recipe here using dry yeast and rice flour is quite simple, but does require fermentation for up to 8 hours to achieve perfectly crispy hoppers with a soft, fluffy center.
You will also need a special Appa/Hopper pan to make the perfect hopper. There are two kinds of pans available in the market - non-stick and traditional metal pans. I much prefer using a traditional pan to get the texture of the hopper right. Make sure you season the pan well prior to using (see notes below). Rubbing oil using an halved onion (flesh side down) on a metal hopper pan prevents the hopper from sticking to the pan. Remember to rub oil and onion on the pan before and after each and every hopper to get perfect results each time. Good luck!
​A few things to remember when making hoppers:
  • Use lukewarm liquids when making the batter to fasten the fermentation process.
  • If the batter does not stick to the pan when twirling the pan, the pan is too hot. Reduce the heat, wipe the pan with a wet cloth to cool it down before making more.
  • If the edges of the hopper are not crispy, add a teaspoon of sugar.
  • If the hoppers are not thin enough around the edges, add a little more lukewarm water, stir well and continue to make more.

Ingredients for Hoppers

2 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 cup lukewarm water
4 cups finest rice flour
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm water + 1 cup (240ml) lukewarm beer (or water)
370ml thick coconut milk
100ml lukewarm water
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste 
Oil, for brushing

Hoppers Recipe Video

Recipe
  1. In a small bowl, mix together dry yeast, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1/8 cup warm water. Set aside for 15 minutes until frothy.
  2. Put rice flour in a large bowl and add the yeast mixture along with 1 cup lukewarm water and 1 cup  lukewarm beer (or water). Whisk until well combined. Cover the bowl with a wet kitchen towel or plastic wrap; set it aside to ferment for about 6-8 hours in a warm corner of your kitchen, until the mixture doubles in volume. 
  3. Once bubbly and double in volume, add 370ml coconut milk, 100ml water, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt - stir well to combine. 
  4. Halve a small onion and stick a fork on the rounded side (the fork will act like a handle). Heat a hopper pan on low-medium flame and spray a few drops of oil on the pan. Holding the onion by the fork, rub the oil all over the inside of the pan using the flesh side of the onion. This step is to ensure that your hoppers don’t stick to the pan. Repeat this step after each and every hopper.
  5. Add about 1/2 cup of the batter to the pan and turn the pan in a circular motion so that the batter sticks to the sides of the pan. Cover and cook for about 3-5 minutes on low-medium flame, or until the edges are crispy and the center is cooked. Use a slotted spoon or butter knife to loosen the edges of  the hopper and serve hot.
  6. If you'd like to add an egg, wait until the hopper is almost set, crack an egg into the center of the crepe before covering the pan for 2 minutes. Remove hopper from the pan and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve hoppers with Sambol or curry.
NOTES:
Buying a hopper pan in Singapore: There are 2 kinds of pans available: Non-stick pan at Mustafa, regular metal pans at Sri-Lankan Grocery Stores (physical store now closed), and cast-iron pans at Jyothi Stores in Little India. A metal hopper pan requires regular seasoning unlike a non-stick pan that does not require seasoning.
 
Seasoning a metal/cast iron hopper pan: 
  1. Wash the pan with hot water using a soft sponge – wipe dry. Scrub the pan with hot water and soap until there are no more black/foreign particles left inside the pan. Pour a teaspoon of vegetable oil in the pan; rub oil all over the inside of the pan using a paper towel. On low-medium flame, heat the pan until smoking, reduce heat to low and let it smoke for 3-4 minutes. Keep your exhaust fan on while doing so. Turn the gas off and let the pan cool down for a few minutes.
  2. Next sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt into the pan and rub it vigorously using a paper towel on the inside of the pan. Wipe it clean with the same paper towel.
  3. Repeat step 1 & 2 for 3-4 days - your pan is now seasoned and ready to use. (you may skip the scrubbing and rinsing bits once the pan stops shedding black particles)
  4. Heat the pan again on low-medium flame. Add a teaspoon full of oil followed by one lightly beaten egg. Scramble the egg making sure you rub the egg all over surface of the pan. Your pan is now ready to use. 

Pol Sambol (Coconut Sambol)

- Serves 4

Ingredients for Pol Sambol

Recipe
1 ½ cups fresh grated coconut (available in local supermarkets)
3 shallots, sliced
1 green chili, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
1 teaspoon Maldive fish chips or anchovies
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 lime, juiced (plus more as per taste)
  1. Put all the ingredients except lime juice to the food processor with a dry grinding blade. Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle to grind everything down except lime juice. 
  2. Squeeze half a lime, stir well and taste. Add more lime juice to suit you own palate.
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