Sri Lankan Hoppers

Sri Lankan Hoppers recipe that uses long 18-20 hour fermentation to get the authentic Hopper taste. The ultimate Sri Lankan street food that everyone loves. I've never met a person who doesn't like these crispy coconutty Sri Lankan hoppers. I have no idea why these are called Hoppers. Maybe because these are too good that you would jump for joy when you taste. lol. I don't know.. But all I can tell you is that these crispy tangy coconutty goodies are so amazing, I'm sure you're going to fall in love with these just as I have. I cannot categorize hoppers into either breakfast or dinner or snack. I remember when we were little kids, hoppers were more like breakfast food. If we wanted hoppers my mom had to make them at home. And it wasn't as easy as it is now. Because readymade rice flour wasn't much popular, if my mom wanted to make hoppers she had to soak rice and then grind them, then make wet rice flour first. Even before she makes the batter. Too much work. That could be the reason why my mom didn't cook these Hoppers much at home when we were young. And also that could be the reason why hoppers gradually became more like dinner and street food. Now everything is easy and available everywhere, we don't have to go through the process of making rice flour at home. We can use store-bought rice flour and make Sri Lankan hoppers easily at home. [caption id="attachment_387" align="aligncenter" width="1416"]

an egg hopper[/caption]

Instant Hoppers vs Hoppers with long-fermented batter

I have tried so many recipes over the past years. Some recipes don't need fermentation at all and you can make hoppers in less than 30 mins. The problem I had with those instant Hopper recipes is, they don't have that iconic fermented flavor which I love. So I came up with this easy long-fermented Sri Lankan hoppers recipe that is just as easy as instant hoppers. But has that authentic hopper flavor. The key here is longer fermentation with a tiny bit of yeast.

My Schedule to make hoppers

For this recipe, you need to make the batter about 18 - 20 hours earlier. So need a bit of planning. My schedule is, I mix flour, water, and yeast the night before I go to sleep around 10 pm. And make the batter the next day evening around 6:30 pm and start making hoppers at 7:00 pm. If you want to extend the time, you can reduce the amount of yeast even more. The recipe yields 10 - 12 medium size hoppers.

Ratings 5 from 5 votes

Cuisine Sri Lankan

Difficulty Intermediate

Time

Prep Time: 1,140 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Total Time: 19 hrs 30 mins

Servings 2

Description

Easy Sri Lankan hoppers recipe that uses rice flour. And uses 18-hour fermentation to get the authentic hopper taste.

Ingredients

200 g Rice flour
1 pinch of yeast
3/4 cup water (175mg)
200 ml of coconut milk
1 tsp sugar
salt as needed

Instructions

The night before you make hoppers (18hrs - 20hrs earlier) make a very thigh dough-like paste using rice flour, yeast, and water. You can use a spoon or fork to mix this. Then cover with and let it ferment for 18 to 20 hours. It's okay to make them a little earlier or a little later. Do NOT add sugar or salt.
18 to 20 hours later you should be able to notice that there are some bubbles on the surface and the paste has risen a little bit.
After 18 - 20 hours add sugar and coconut milk and make a somewhat thick batter. Not too thick or not too thin. Careful when you add coconut milk. You might need less or more than 200ml. So add a little by little and see the consistency is right. Do NOT add salt yet. Now cover again and let it sit for 30 mins.
Meanwhile, add a generous amount of oil to your hopper pan. Let the oil heat a bit and then add an egg yolk if your pan is too sticky. ( Or you can use the whole egg if your pan is old and well seasoned) break the egg yolk in the oil as it frying and rub it all in the pan using your spoon. Then remove the oil and the egg yolk to a heatproof bowl. We are going to use this oil to rub the pan before making each hopper. **Skip this step completely if you're using a nonstick hopper pan.
After 30 mins of mixing coconut milk and sugar, add salt to the batter and mix very well.
Heat the hopper pan on medium heat, add a ladle full of batter to the center. and swirl the pan around to coat the inside with the batter. Now cover the pan and let it cook for about 45 seconds or until it's done.
and swirl the pan around to coat the inside with the batter. Now cover the pan. Do not open the lid again and again.
and let it cook for about 45 seconds or until it's done.
For egg hoppers, pour the batter ( a little less than plain hoppers), break an egg in, add salt and pepper, cover, and cook on low heat until you get the desired texture.