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If I had to pick a favorite Sri Lankan meal, this would be it.  There's nothing like breaking off a crisp piece of hopper, dipping it into broken egg, and scooping up some curry and a bit of seeni sambol.  Delectable.

These rice flour pancakes have a unique shape; fermented batter is swirled in a special small hemispherical pan, so you end up with a soft, spongy center, and lacey, crispy sides -- that contrast is the true glory of the hopper.  Typically you'd make one egg hopper / person, plus another plain hopper or two, and maybe a sweet hopper to finish up.

If you don't have a hopper pan, you can make hoppers in a regular frying pan; you just won't get quite as much of the crispy sides.  It's a little time-consuming to make hoppers, since each one must be individually steamed for a few minutes, but with practice, you can have four hopper pans going on a stove at once.  I'd recommend starting with just one pan at a time, though!  Serve with curry and seeni sambol. --from Mary A
Ingredients
  • 2 c. rice flour (or a mix of rice and wheat flour)
  • 1 t. sugar
  • pinch of baking powder
  • ½ t. salt
  • 2 c. coconut milk
  • eggs for egg hoppers
  • extra coconut milk and jaggery for sweet hoppers
  •  
Steps
  1. Mix first five ingredients thoroughly in a large bowl, cover, and set in a warm turned-off oven to ferment overnight.
  2. Mix again, adding water if necessary to make a thin, pourable batter.
  3. Heat pan (grease if not non-stick) on medium, and when it's hot, pour about ⅓ c. batter into the center.  Pick up the pan immediately and swirl the batter around, coating the cooking surface.  Cover and let cook for 2 to 4 minutes -- you'll know it's ready when the sides have started to brown and the center is thoroughly cooked.  A silicone spatula will help with getting the hopper out of the pan.
  4. For egg hoppers, after swirling, crack an egg in the center before covering.  The egg will cook as the hopper does, finishing in about 3 to 4 minutes.
  5. For sweet hoppers, after swirling, add a T of coconut milk and a t. of jaggery to the center of the pan, then cook as usual.
 

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