Dearest vegan food lovers…
There is one Sri Lankan breakfast I keep making on repeat. Crispy edges. Soft coconut center. One pan. Five minutes. Kitchen smells like coconut.
Paal Appam. Also called milk hoppers.
It looks like a bowl shaped pancake with lace edges and a soft middle. The batter uses fermented rice and coconut milk, which gives the hopper its flavor and texture.
The good news for this subreddit. The base recipe already sits fully plant based. No dairy. No eggs. Rice flour, coconut milk, yeast, sugar, salt.
I wrote the full recipe with video here
https://thaayakaunavukal.com/recipe/52-sri-lankan-paal-appam-milk-hoppers
Quick version below if you want to try it.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rice flour
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 pinch yeast
- salt
- water
Instructions
Mix rice flour, yeast, and water into a thick paste.
Let it ferment overnight. Fermentation gives hoppers their airy texture and light sour flavor.
Next day mix in coconut milk, sugar, and salt to form a smooth batter.
Heat a small wok or hopper pan.
Pour one ladle of batter in the center. Swirl the pan so a thin layer climbs the sides.
Cook covered for about one minute.
The edges turn crispy. The middle stays soft and fluffy.
Serving ideas
- sweet coconut milk with sugar
- coconut sambol
- chickpea curry
- spicy dhal
Where I grew up this sits on the table for breakfast or dinner. Everyone fights for the first crispy one.
Curious how people here would eat it.
Sweet hopper or savory hopper.
by Jvithu