Mmmmm, look at these beauties! Since it is Valentine's Day today - Happy Valentine’s to you all! I will be making these Sri Lankan hoppers again tomorrow morning to treat the whole crowd around this household - weekend treats are the best!
What are Sri Lankan hoppers?
Hoppers describe the pancakes made from fermented rice and coconut milk batter, a popular breakfast dish in Sri Lanka and South India.
Hoppers apparently it’s the British way of pronouncing “Appam” - which ….. errrr, whichever way you try and turn or pronounce would never sound any close to hoppers but hey.....they are delicious so, who really cares?
Appam or Sri Lankan hoppers are yummy and healthier savoury pancakes that are made with coconut milk and rice or rice flour that needs fermenting - ideally, overnight.
It is such a great dish to start the day with... we have it mainly at the weekend but truthfully you can keep the batter in the fridge and have them any morning before going to work or school in literally minutes.
I do like to believe it originates from Sri Lanka where it makes a common breakfast or even dinner.
How to make Sri Lankan hoppers?
I don’t always go the traditional way on making appam as nowadays the ready-made rice flour it’s so great and cuts a bit of time if you do not fancy soaking the rice.
Any corner cut it’s great if it works and saves us some time, right? Well... I think so!
The best outcome when cutting corners it’s when the result doesn’t really differ from the traditional or original way of making something.
I am a fan of traditional food, oh yes. The difference’s that we no longer have all that time in hand but still want to have those dishes. Dishes that either bring childhood memories, add to our healthy eating habits or simply enjoy a dish we like.
Ingredients needed and availability:
All the ingredients are easy to find especially if you have an Asian grocery store nearby.
All you need it’s the following:
- Rice - raw and cooked or ready bought or
- Rice flour - I like choosing brown rice but made with white this time
- Coconut milk or
- Fresh coconut
- Salt
- Sugar |(optional)
- Yeast - fresh or active dry... or
- Beer (to help with the fermentation) leave out if you cannot have yeast or
- Soda bicarbonate
- Eggs (optional but I really like them with that egg in the middle). Yummm.
How to serve appam or these Sri Lankan hoppers?
We love eating these
- with a nice and fairly spicy dry red chilli and coconut sambal,
- plain,
- with quail eggs,
- with a beautiful egg or potato and cauliflower curry. OMG, too good!
- plain served with jam (my kids' favourite haha)
- with egg curry, a recipe that I need to share with you ASAP - my second top favourite curry recipe after this nice lamb curry which I absolutely adore.
Variations :
Appam or Sri Lankan hoppers can be served sweet or savoury. I love them served with a few other curries, in particular, this giant potato cauliflower filo-samosa, vegetarian or this beautiful and super tasty monkfish curry.
Served with homemade jam...
Some people might say, what? especially those that know what appam is but please forgive me! I need to share this.
Last weekend I have made them again and a few were the regular savoury ones and a few were served with jam, only because we said.... hmmm, why not?
Oh wow, I’m not sure kids will go for savoury ones again. That will most probably take some persuasive efforts now from my side to make them have the savoury appam version.
I personally like them savoury with the coconut and red chilli sambal which I have to say it’s JUST divine. Different story with my kids, obviously! They clearly said they will never miss making at least one or two with a jam, honey or maple syrup. I have to agree with them though, they are too good to miss - so, so good!
My husband is the real master at making the coconut and red chilli sambal. His is definitely the best. I’m going to put the recipe up for that in a separate post most probably right away, so stay tuned!
The traditional appam ( Sri Lankan hoppers) recipe calls for todi (palm wine) but I have used beer* on a couple of occasions and that’s probably as good. I am saying probably because I have never tasted the ones with todi but will let you know once I do.
There are a few ways to make this Sri Lankan savoury pancake recipe. I sometimes get the rice flour or I soak the raw rice. I’m going to share with you the made-from-scratch version and that’s because everyone has rice in the cupboard.
Let's get making these beauties, shall we?
Appam or Sri Lankan hoppers
Equipment
- jug
- appachetty
- glass bowl
- spatula
- clingfilm
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice raw soaked in lukewarm water *
- 1 cup cooked rice leftover or freshly cooked
- 1 cup of coconut milk or fresh ground one
- 1 teaspoon yeast fresh or active dry *
- 8 eggs I use quail eggs almost always *
- ¼ teaspoon salt or less *
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Pre task. Soak the raw rice in lukewarm water for about 3 hours or longer. If you don’t have any cooked rice (leftover) boil some now. Boil approximately 50g of rice which will give approximately 1 cup of cooked rice. Set aside for later.
- In a mug combine the yeast with the sugar in warm water and allow it to rest until it’s beginning to bubble up. This should be approximately 10-15 minutes.
- Using a food processor whizz the cooked rice and the soaked rice with coconut milk or the fresh coconut and add a little water until it becomes a thick batter.
- Add salt and the yeast mixture to the rice and whizz continuously until all are combined.
- Take a glass bowl out and transfer the batter. Cover with a lid or clingfilm and allow it to ferment. Ideally overnight. 6-8 hours.
- The batter should be runny but not too watery so adjust its consistency by adding more water and/or some more coconut milk.
- Pour the batter into a jug or a smoothie bottle (I find it easier to handle).
- Place the appam pan or the appachetty (special appam pan) on fire, when this is slightly hot pour in some batter (the amount or quantity of a small ladle or the equivalent of 8-10 tablespoons). Move the pan in a circular motion so that the batter is spread around on the edges as high as this permits.
- Add an egg in the centre (the batter is thicker but don’t worry, it’s as it should be) and cook for about 2 minutes (covered) until the egg it’s cooked. This can be made hard or left soft depending on your preferences. If cooking with one quail egg the time will differ from when cooking with a regular egg. The egg will indicate when it's cooked.
- Serve while hot with sambol, chutney, any curry or a nice dhal (dal).
Notes
I prefer eggs only if I have these at breakfast but I make them simple too to have with a nice potato and cauliflower curry or dhal or any meat curry. Oh my! I’m drooling already. * eggs - If you don’t have quail eggs use any small chicken eggs. * the raw rice can be mixed with regular white and brown rice. Sometimes I add a handful of mung beans too for extra goodness. I use lukewarm water but that’s not necessary. * if you want to replace the yeast just add 1 levelled teaspoon soda bicarbonate. If you don’t have yeast, use 100 ml beer which is a small glass. Just add to the batter.
Melinda says
What a beautiful and delicious way to impress guests for breakfast or brunch. I’ll swap out quail eggs for chicken eggs since that’s all I’ve got on hand. This looks gluten free - which is an added plus for some of my friends! Thanks for sharing.
Colleen says
I've never heard of appam but it looks amazing. I'm saving this to try soon. Thanks for sharing!.
Lindsay says
I made these for my kids' breakfast and we loved them! Definitely will be making again.
Jere Cassidy says
As always I love reading about the food you are making, it always looks so good and I love your descriptions. The hoppers look like a wonderful breakfast treat.
Sarah says
A much easier recipe than I would have thought from the title! Definitely a must-try, yummy!
Swathi says
Appam is my favorite and these look absolutely delicious
Ramona says
Thank you 😉
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
It looks incredibly delicious. I wish this were in front of me.
Chef Dennis says
I had never heard of hoppers before this post but I will definitely be making them soon. They look delicious!
Ramona says
Thanks, definitely worth a try - super healthy fermented food 😉
Raquel says
Looking forward to making this - sounds tasty!
Kayla DiMaggio says
This was such a delightful recipe! I had never heard of it before and it was so yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Jean says
interesting recipe! I love anything with coconut milk and this looks like a must try recipe.
Elizabeth says
I’d never heard of a hopper but I’m so glad I gave these a try! Absolutely delicious! Great recipe!
Ramona says
Thank you so much ELizabeth!
Jill says
what a perfect breakfast! These are a great change up and so delicious!
Ashley says
I've never heard of hoppers before. Your photos are beautiful though, and I am definitely intrigued to try them.
Naomi says
Ramona, do you just leave it on the counter to ferment? Or the fridge? Thanks! Can’t wait to try!
Ramona says
Hi Naomi,
You can keep it on the counter if you do it the same day. Only refrigerate if you leave it overnight but it really depends on the ambient temperature. The batter needs some warmth in order to ferment. Just take it out of the fridge if you do refrigerate it half an hour one hour before cooking.
Let me know how you liked them 🤗
Sara says
Ramona, my parents are Sri Lankan and we are quarantining here in the US. My dad has been craving store-quality appa and I decided to try and make it for the first time. Rave reviews! We loved your recipe. Thank you very much. Will definitely be making it your way again!
Ramona says
Yayy, thank you soo much Sara!!
So is my hubby he’s Sri Lankan too! I LOVE Sri Lankan food, it's amazing!
I’m so happy your parents loved my Appam. I have to say there’s been quite a few trials and errors before getting to this recipe but that’s all about getting something right I guess.
I do cook quite a few Sri Lankan dishes and I have soo many recipes but I have only managed to put up a few so far, there will be definitely more coming- next will be dosas and idly which I love too. Try and make the coconut sambal ( https://www.ramonascuisine.com/coconut-sambal-with-red-chilli/ ) too it’s really nice and that’s my husband's speciality. He makes the BEST!
Thank you and stay safe guys! Xoxo
Sara says
Thank you so much, Ramona! I’m sorry I didn’t see your reply for such a long time—we came back to use your recipe for New Year’s Day appa! It is so perfect. Will try the pol sambol recipe next! Hope you and your family are doing well! Xx
Ramona says
Hi Sara,
Happy New Year to you and your family my lovely! 🥳❤️ I am doing well,thank you soo much, I hope you are too!
It’s so wonderful to hear from you and to know that you’ve returned to make my appam recipe again. It’s my go-to recipe too, and with a little patience, it always turns out perfectly!💕
You’re absolutely right, the sambal recipe is amazing, especially for those who enjoy venturing down the spicy lane. That’s exactly how I love pairing my appam! Of course, my Sri Lankan hubby prefers the sweet version with coconut and sugar, but I like to swap in honey or maple syrup for a slightly healthier twist. ❤️🍯
Wishing you a fantastic 2025! 🌟 I can’t wait to see which recipes you’ll try next. I’d be absolutely thrilled to hear from you again soon! 💖
Big hugs,
Ramona xxx ❤️
Vivian says
Was so excited to make these but I'm confused.. what do I do with the raw rice? Is the raw rice the same as the cooked rice or are they separate ingredients?
Just having to wing it now and hope it works...
Ramona says
Hi Vivian,
Thank you very much for stopping by. You need to use raw rice as well as cooked rice so if you don’t have any cooked/leftover rice you will need to cook some and that’s about 50 g of raw rice which you will give you approximately one cup of cooked rice that’s needed for this recipe along with the raw rice that you will need to soak in water for 3+ hours. I hope this makes sense. I’ll try and reword the steps to make it a little clearer.
I hope I’ve answered your question but please let me know if it’s still not clear.
Vivian says
Hi Ramona,
Thank you so much for your quick reply! My batter is currently in the fridge so will see what happens. But for next time: step 3 only mentions to whizz the cooked rice - but do I add the raw rice here and then whizz with the coconut milk?
Ramona says
Hi Vivian,
Yes, mix all and allow to ferment - keep at least 3-4 hours at room temperature, the fridge is slowing the fermentation time. As long as you see some bubbles, it's fine 😉 I have slightly amended the wording so hopefully, it is clearer now. Let me know if you have any more questions, I am more than happy to answer these. I just want you to get the perfect appam/hoppers. If this time is not the best, I can reassure you that practice makes perfect. I had to make them a few times before getting to the perfect outcome, ;-). Let me know how it all went. I can't wait to hear back from you and hear how it all went.
Jacque Hastert says
i have never tried or heard of this before. Now it is all I can think of and can't wait to try this. Thank you for bringing this delicious recipe to my attention.
Ramona says
So hope you will Jacque, they are soo good and a lot healthier than the usual pancakes.
Amy Liu Dong says
W0w! First time to encounter such pancakes with coconut and egg in the middle. Loved the presentation and it looks so yummy and delicious an absolute hit to our kids.
Ramona says
Thank you Amy - I do hope you will try these one day 😉
Emily says
What a perfect breakfast recipe! I agree, I love the egg in the middle for this recipe!
Ramona says
Thanks Emily, it makes these pancakes look so much better and also it adds to the nutrition these pancakes offer 😉
Kay says
I have never seen or heard of these!!! But I am so glad I have now...... have saved them to try out this weekend!
Ramona says
Thanks Kay, I really hope you liked them 😉
Stine Mari says
I have never heard of hoppers or appam before (no they do not sound alike at all!) but now I REALLY want to try it out. I've been in a breakfast rut lately and I can't wait to try these!!
Ramona says
Appam is good!!! definitely worth a try dear Stine 😉
Jacqui DeBono says
These are gorgeous, I have never heard of them before. I am missing out! The kids would love these too, as they are so cool to look at!
Ramona says
Thank you dear Jacqui, you are right and you should definitely try making them as they are so good, gluten free too 😉
Alex Ryder says
I've tried hoppers before, in Australia of all places, and they were delicious but I've never made them at home! I like the egg in the bottom and would love to try that sambal!
Ramona says
thank you Alex, do you know if they were the Sri Lankan style hoppers the ones you tried? They are good, aren’t they? Sambal recipe is coming up before the end of the weekend so stay tuned! Thanks again xx