Easy Hoppers (Appa, Appam) made with Rice Flour! Are you looking for an easy way to make hoppers (appa, appam)? Learn to make hoppers with store-bought rice flour with this easy recipe. Follow our step-by-step guide and top tips.
Learn to Make Hoppers
(Appa, Appam) with Rice Flour
Are you looking for an easy way to make hoppers (appa, appam)? Learn to make hoppers with this easy recipe with rice flour. If you’re new to making hoppers, make a few hoppers to just practice. Yes, I know. It’s a bit tricky at first to make perfect bowl-shaped hoppers. But you can master the art within a few tries.
WHAT ARE HOPPERS (Appa, Appam)?
Hoppers (English), Appa (Sinhalese), Appam (Tamil)
In Sri Lanka, hoppers are called appa (pronounced “arp-peh”) in Sinhalese. It is said that the word appa derives from the Tamil word appam (pronounced “arp-pem”). Hoppers are also called appam in some parts of South India like Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Hoppers are bowl-shaped pancakes with crispy edges and soft spongy centers. They are made with a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk. The hopper batter is cooked in small mini wok-like hopper pans. Hoppers get their bowl shape from these small pans.
A Hopper Pan, Appa Thachchiya (Sinhalese), or Appam Chatti (Tamil), is a small, slope-sided nonstick pan with a curved bottom. It comes with a tight-fitting lid, which is key for making hoppers because they rely on steam to set.
About the Recipe
In this post, I will show you how to make Hoppers the easy way with store-bought rice flour. Make sure to buy long-grain white rice flour like Thai white rice flour, not glutinous rice flour (Japanese rice flour).
Well, you can also make the hoppers with homemade ground rice powder. Ground rice powder is made by grinding soaked raw rice using a powerful grinder. It is slightly coarser than store-bought fine rice flour. Click here for the recipe The Best Hoppers With Homemade Rice Flour
You will need a Hopper pan
As I mentioned before, hoppers are cooked in a small wok-like pan known as Hopper Pan. The hopper pan ensures the batter collects in the center of the pan. After tilting it, the batter laces the sides. This creates a fluffy soft center with crispy lacy edges.
Hopper Pans are available in online stores like Amazon. If you use a non-stick pan, do not grease it with oil. Oil will prevent the batter from sticking to the pan. It is ok to grease lightly with a bit of oil. Make sure to wipe off well before pouring the batter. And keep the pan solely for making hoppers.
Ingredients
Rice flour: Use long-grain white rice flour like Thai white rice flour. Do not use glutinous rice flour as it is sticky.
Water: I use water to make the batter and then after fermentation thin the batter with thick coconut milk. You can also use thin coconut milk instead of water.
Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast: These two types of yeasts can be used interchangeably in recipes. If you use instant yeast, just mix it in with the rice flour. If you use active dry yeast, follow the directions on the yeast packet. You need to activate it by dissolving it in water before using it.
Coconut milk: Coconut milk gives hoppers an amazing milky taste, nice flavor, and crispiness. You can use fresh coconut milk or canned coconut milk. You can also use coconut milk powder after dissolving it in water.
Sugar: Sugar helps to get golden-laced hoppers. It gives a bit of sweetness. It also helps in the fermentation process.
Baking Soda; Baking soda can help create crispy hoppers, improve browning, and lighten the texture.
Salt: Salt is used as a seasoning to enhance the taste of hoppers.
Useful tips for making the best hoppers
Batter
Your batter should be pourable but creamy. After fermentation, thin the batter with thick coconut milk and adjust the thickness. If your batter is watery, the batter will get scattered in the pan. If it is too thick, it will not spread thinly as you want.
You can keep the batter in the fridge for a few days. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before you make hoppers.
Need a good fermentation
If the batter is not fully fermented, you can’t handle your batter as you want. It will become fragile and it will not stick to the pan and keep its shape when cooking. So, make sure to ferment your batter until it is nicely frothy, and smells fermented.
Fermentation is a tricky process and depends on the environment and the amount of yeast. Warm temperatures between 25 to 30 C are ideal for fermentation. The time needed for good fermentation will be different between 6 to 8 hours (just a rough guide). Make sure to check the batter with your own eyes.
At a higher temperature, the batter would turn sour. If we allow the batter to ferment for a longer time, it would also turn sour. So you need to move it to the refrigerator before it turns too sour.
Cooking
Your Hopper Pan should be hot but not too hot. Make sure the pan is hot before you add the batter. If the pan is not hot enough, the batter will not stick to the pan. On the other hand, if your pan is too hot, the batter also does not stick to the pan.
Ladle the batter into the hopper pan. Tilt it and swirl the batter around so it coats the whole pan. Cover the pan with a lid after you spread the batter. When you put the lid on, it helps form the hot steam inside. This steam cooks the batter to obtain a spongy texture in the middle.
What to Serve With Hoppers
Serve the hoppers for an authentic Sri Lankan breakfast or dinner with chicken, meat, fish, or lentil curries. You can also serve them with hot chili condiments like lunu miris or pol sambol.
Lunu Miris (Chili Condiment)
Seeni Sambol (Onion Relish)
Pol Sambol (Coconut Relish)
Pol Sambol (With Desiccated Coconut)
Pol Sambol Thel Dala (Stir-Fried Coconut Sambol)
Spicy Chicken Curry
Coconut Milk Egg Curry
Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk
Spicy Tuna Fish Curry
I love eating them with sugar and/or bananas. Sprinkle some sugar on the center and roll it. Or with a banana, just roll a banana with or without sugar. OR try them in your way with whatever filling or topping you like. Let’s say…. honey, jam, chocolate, or even with cheese…
More Hoppers to Try
How to Make Perfect Hoppers (Appa, Appam)?
Here is an easy recipe with a step-by-step guide, useful tips, and a video for making perfect hoppers. Click here for the Perfect Sri Lankan Appa (Hoppers/Appam)
How to Make Hoppers With Homemade Rice Flour?
Learn to make the best hoppers with this tried and tested recipe with homemade rice flour. Click here for Hoppers With Homemade Rice Flour
How to Make Egg Hoppers (Biththara Appa)?
Egg Hoppers (or Biththara Appa) are plain hoppers (or Appa) with an egg cooked in the middle. Click here for Egg Hoppers (Biththara Appa)
How to make hoppers in a frying pan?
If you don’t have a hopper pan, you can make hoppers in a small non-stick frying pan. Click here for Easy Hoppers in a Frying Pan
How to Make String Hoppers?
Learn to make Indiappa (String Hoppers) with this easy recipe with a step-by-step guide, useful info, and tips. Click Here for String Hoppers (Indiappa) With Roasted Rice Flour
Easy Hoppers Made with Rice Flour (Step-by-Step Recipe)
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Resting Time 8 to 10 hrs
Servings 6
Ingredients
150 g rice flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
180 ml water or thin coconut milk (adjust as needed)
100 ml thick coconut milk (adjust as needed)
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon warm water
Instructions
Place the rice flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and mix well.
Add water a little at a time and mix well until you have a smooth batter without any lumps.
Leave the batter to sit in a warm place. Do this if you live in a cold climate. Let it sit for 4 to 6 hours. The time needed for fermentation is different according to the room temperature; the key is to use your intuition.
After fermentation, the batter should be thick and smell fermented. Gently stir the batter. (An hour before you intend to cook and serve the hoppers)
Thin the batter adding coconut milk a little at a time. Dissolve the baking soda in a tablespoon of warm water. Add to the batter and mix well.
Cover and leave in a warm place for about 30 minutes to one hour. After resting time, the batter is full of tiny air bubbles.
Gently mix the batter. Season with salt to taste.
Heat the hopper pan over medium-high heat until it becomes hot. Pour a ladleful of the batter into the center of the pan. You will hear the sizzling sound when the batter hits the pan if it’s hot enough.
Hold both handles of the pan then rotate the pan to spread the batter evenly and thinly. Swirl only once (or twice) in the same direction.
A thin layer of batter should stick to the sides, with a thicker layer in the center.
Cover and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat. The edges of the pancake should start to brown. The center should no longer be runny.
Run around the edges with a palette knife and ease it onto a plate. Best served hot.
THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY
I love hearing from you so feel free to leave a comment on the post. If you make any of my recipes, I’d love to see pics of your creations #joyofeatingtheworld or @joyofeatingtheworld
Easy Hoppers Made With Rice Flour
Ingredients
- 150 g rice flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 180 ml water or thin coconut milk (adjust as needed)
- 100 ml thick coconut milk (adjust as needed)
- 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon warm water
Instructions
- Place the rice flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and mix well.
- Add water a little at a time and mix well until you have a smooth batter without any lumps.
- Leave the batter to sit in a warm place for 4 to 6 hours. The time needed for fermentation can be different according to the room temperature; the key is to use your intuition.
- Gently stir the batter. (An hour before you intend to cook and serve the hoppers)
- Thin the batter adding coconut milk a little at a time as needed.
- Dissolve the baking soda in a tablespoon of warm water. Add and mix well. Let the batter rest for about 1 hour.
- Heat the Appa pan over medium-high heat until it becomes hot.
- Pour a ladleful of the batter into the center of the pan and tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly. A thin layer of batter should stick to the sides, with a thicker layer in the center.
- Cover and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes over medium heat until the edges of the pancake are starting to brown, and the center is no longer runny.
- Run around the edges with a palette knife and ease it onto a plate.
- Best served hot.
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