Lot may say this is one of the hardest dish to make. If you don't get the batter into the correct consistency, heat of the wok in right temperature, the lace of the Appa will not become stiff and lacy.
I like to keep it simple, short and easy. Let's start cooking....,
Ingredients
500g Rice flour
1 Cup of Lukewarm water
1 Cup of Lukewarm Beer (room temperature)
(alternative for beer you can use sprite or sparkling water result won't be the same)
1 Can of Full-fat Coconut milk
Salt to taste
2 tbsp Sugar
For the small wok
1 egg yolk is for the preparation of the pan
1 small fennel cloth or kitchen tissue
Yeast Mixture
1 pkt of Dry active yeast (7g or 2 1/2tsp)
1 tbsp of Sugar
1/4 cup of lukewarm water
I'll let you in my secret
It is very important all the liquid you add into this recipe be in lukewarm condition. (it shouldn't be either cold or hot, it should be in the middle. warm to touch) reason being for the Yeast you add needs perfect conditions to rise. That's the key to this recipe. the warm beer will help a lot for the yeast to rise and give you that perfect stiff crisp lace of what you call Appa, Sri-lankan traditional lace pancake.
Don't be afraid to use beer. you won't taste this from hoppers once made.
Any of the above small wok will be suitable for the job! 👆👆👆
Method
First make the yeast mixture, mix all the ingredients together and keep it aside in a warm place for 15 min until frothy and bubbly.
(I usually preheat the oven for 180C for 1min and switch the oven off and keep the mixture inside)
In large mixing bowl add the rice flour, sugar, coconut milk, lukewarm water, lukewarm beer, yeast mixture and mix altogether to be a lump free batter Cover the bowl with a clean film, leave it in a warm place for 4 hours to rise in double. (I usually heat the oven for 160C for 2min, off the oven and leave the mixture inside)
After 4 hours take out the mixture and mix well. At this pointy ou can add more water or coconut milk if you feel the mixture is too thick. the batter should be thinner than a pancake batter. Add salt to taste.
You are all set.......,
Now the fun begins,
Take the small wok/thachhiya heat on medium heat, put the egg yolk and cook. Remove it from the thachchiya put it on a small funnel/tissue and dip it on oil filled saucer. You will need this for each hopper you make, to smooth the wok before you put in the next batch of batter.
When the wok is hot, rub the wok thoroughly with the oiled-egg cloth. Add a serving of ladle of batter to the pan and turn in a circular motion. so the batter sticks to the side of the pan. and pour little more batter into the middle. Cover and cook for 1min under low-medium heat until becomes golden. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the hopper and serve hot with kata sambol, fish/mutton curry.
Rasa bojun
If you feel adventurous, try these Flower Appa. You can use the same batter.
If you decide to make this recipe, I would love to hear from you!
Please feel free to share your outcomes with a picture or by a comment below.
Also i‘m open for suggestions and your ideas on which recipes I should put on next.
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