Quick answer
Hoppers, called appa in Sinhala, are bowl-shaped pancakes made from a fermented rice flour and coconut milk batter, cooked in a small curved pan so the edges become thin and crisp while the centre stays soft and spongy. String hoppers, idiyappam, are entirely different: nests of steamed rice-flour noodles pressed through a mould. Both are traditionally breakfast or dinner dishes rather than lunch, and both are eaten with curries, sambols and kiri hodi, a mild coconut milk gravy.
Key takeaways
- Hoppers are bowl-shaped fermented pancakes; string hoppers are steamed rice-flour noodle nests.
- An egg hopper has an egg cracked into the centre partway through cooking.
- Both are traditionally eaten at breakfast or dinner, not at lunch.
- Kiri hodi, a mild coconut milk gravy, is the standard accompaniment to both.
- Hoppers must be eaten fresh from the pan; they do not keep or reheat well.
Hoppers, or appa
A hopper begins as a batter of rice flour and coconut milk, leavened traditionally with toddy, the fermented sap of the coconut palm, and left overnight to ferment. That fermentation is what gives a good hopper its faint sourness and its aerated, spongy centre. Modern versions often use yeast instead.
The batter is ladled into a small, deep, curved pan, which is then swirled so the batter climbs the sides. The pan is covered and the hopper cooks in a couple of minutes: the thin batter on the sides crisps into a lacy, almost translucent rim, while the pooled batter at the bottom stays soft and slightly spongy. The result is a bowl you can eat, with two entirely different textures in one object.
- →Batter of rice flour and coconut milk, traditionally fermented with toddy.
- →Cooked in a small curved pan, swirled so the batter climbs the sides.
- →Crisp lacy edges and a soft, spongy centre in the same piece.
- →Cooked in two to three minutes and eaten immediately.
Egg hoppers, milk hoppers and the sweet ones
The egg hopper, bittara appa, is the version most visitors meet first. An egg is cracked into the centre partway through cooking and steams under the lid, leaving a set white and a soft yolk in the middle of the bowl. Broken into the surrounding crisp edges with a spoonful of lunumiris, it is one of the best breakfasts anywhere.
The milk hopper, kiri appa, has thick coconut milk poured into the centre near the end of cooking, producing a soft, custard-like middle. It is usually eaten with jaggery or treacle as a sweet dish. There are also honey hoppers with treacle, and, less traditionally, hoppers with cheese or chocolate at tourist-facing places, which are not the point.
- →Egg hopper (bittara appa): an egg cracked into the centre, steamed under the lid.
- →Milk hopper (kiri appa): thick coconut milk in the centre, soft and custard-like.
- →Honey hopper: with kithul treacle, eaten as a sweet.
- →Plain hoppers are eaten with curry and sambol as part of a savoury meal.
String hoppers, or idiyappam
String hoppers share only the name. A dough of rice flour and hot water is pressed through a perforated mould, an idiyappam press, directly onto small woven mats in a spiral, forming flat nests of fine noodles. These are then stacked and steamed for a few minutes.
The result is soft, delicate, faintly nutty and almost flavourless on its own, which is entirely the point: it is a vehicle. String hoppers are counted out onto the plate, usually five to ten per person, and eaten with curry, sambol and kiri hodi poured over. Red rice flour versions are common and slightly nuttier.
- →Rice flour dough pressed through a mould onto woven mats, then steamed.
- →Soft, delicate and neutral in flavour; a vehicle for curry and sambol.
- →Served counted out, typically five to ten nests per person.
- →Red rice flour versions are common and have a nuttier flavour.
What to eat them with
Kiri hodi is the essential accompaniment to both: a thin, mild, pale gravy of coconut milk, onion, green chilli, turmeric, curry leaf and pandan, sometimes with a squeeze of lime. It is poured over string hoppers and used to soften hoppers, and its mildness is a deliberate counterweight to what comes next.
That is lunumiris, a pounded relish of red chilli, onion, Maldive fish, lime and salt, which is fiercely hot and which almost every Sri Lankan will put on both. Pol sambol, seeni sambol, a caramelised sweet onion relish, and a dhal or fish curry complete the standard set. String hoppers are also commonly served with a mild kirata or with a chicken curry.
- →Kiri hodi: mild coconut milk gravy, the essential accompaniment to both.
- →Lunumiris: fiery pounded chilli, onion and Maldive fish relish.
- →Seeni sambol: sweet caramelised onion relish, excellent with hoppers.
- →Pol sambol, dhal and a fish or chicken curry complete the plate.
When they are eaten
Both are breakfast and dinner foods, not lunch. Hopper shops open early and again in the evening, and the evening service is often the better one, with pans working continuously and hoppers going straight from the fire to the plate. Lunch is rice and curry territory, and asking for hoppers at one o'clock will usually get you a puzzled look.
This matters practically because hotels serve hoppers at breakfast buffets where they have been sitting under a lamp, which is not what a hopper is. A hopper more than a few minutes old has gone soft and lost the contrast between the crisp rim and the soft centre. Eat them made to order or do not bother.
- →Breakfast and dinner dishes; lunch is rice and curry territory.
- →Hopper shops run early morning and evening services.
- →A hopper must be eaten within minutes; they do not hold or reheat.
- →Avoid buffet hoppers sitting under a heat lamp; find a pan instead.
Where to find good ones
Dedicated hopper shops, often small and unmarked, appear at dusk in every town, with a row of curved pans over gas rings and a queue. Look for the pans, and for people leaving with parcels. Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Negombo all have well-known places, but the roadside stall in a small town is just as likely to be excellent.
String hoppers are more often eaten at home and are widely available at bakeries and small eateries in the morning, sold by the dozen. A guesthouse breakfast of string hoppers with kiri hodi, pol sambol and a dhal, made that morning, is one of the better meals available in Sri Lanka and costs almost nothing.
- →Look for dedicated hopper shops at dusk: a row of curved pans and a queue.
- →String hoppers are sold by the dozen at bakeries and small eateries in the morning.
- →Guesthouse breakfasts of string hoppers are frequently better than hotel buffets.
- →Ask your guesthouse the night before if you want hoppers made fresh.
Making them yourself
Hoppers need the pan. A hopper pan is a small, deep, round-bottomed pan with a lid, and without one you cannot get the shape or the edge. They are cheap in any Sri Lankan market and pack reasonably well, which makes them one of the better souvenirs from the island.
String hoppers need an idiyappam press, also cheap and widely sold, and the small woven mats. Both feature in most Sri Lankan cooking classes, and learning to swirl a hopper pan properly takes about six attempts, three of which will tear.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Sri Lankan hopper?
A bowl-shaped pancake made from a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk, cooked in a small curved pan so the edges become thin and lacy while the centre stays soft and spongy. An egg hopper has an egg cracked into the middle partway through cooking.
What is the difference between hoppers and string hoppers?
They share only rice flour. Hoppers, appa, are bowl-shaped fermented pancakes cooked in a curved pan. String hoppers, idiyappam, are nests of fine rice-flour noodles pressed through a mould onto woven mats and steamed. They are entirely different in texture and preparation.
What is an egg hopper?
A hopper with an egg cracked into the centre partway through cooking, which steams under the lid to leave a set white and soft yolk in the middle of the crisp-edged bowl. It is typically eaten with lunumiris, a fiery chilli and onion relish, at breakfast or dinner.
What do you eat with string hoppers?
Kiri hodi, a mild coconut milk gravy, poured over the top, plus pol sambol, lunumiris, seeni sambol and usually a dhal, fish or chicken curry. String hoppers are almost flavourless on their own by design, functioning as a vehicle for whatever is served with them.
When are hoppers eaten in Sri Lanka?
At breakfast and dinner, not lunch. Hopper shops run early morning and evening services, and evening is often the better one, with pans working continuously. Asking for hoppers at midday will usually get a puzzled response, as lunch is rice and curry territory.
What is kiri hodi?
A thin, mild, pale gravy of coconut milk with onion, green chilli, turmeric, curry leaf and pandan, sometimes finished with lime. It is the standard accompaniment to both hoppers and string hoppers, and its mildness deliberately balances the fierce heat of lunumiris.
Can you make hoppers at home?
Yes, but you need a hopper pan, a small deep round-bottomed pan with a lid, without which you cannot achieve the shape or the crisp edge. They are inexpensive in Sri Lankan markets and pack well, making them one of the more useful souvenirs from the island.