Culinary legends Matt Preston & Gary Mehigan share their latest food obsession

Hoppers with Seeni sambol and Pol sambol

Hoppers:

2 cups Basmati rice

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¼ cup urad dal

3 cups water

1 cup cooked rice

1 tsp salt

1 tbs caster sugar

2g dried yeast

For the hoppers, place the raw rice and urad together with the water into a medium sized bowl. Soak for 4-6 hours. Blend until smooth, add the cooked rice, sugar, salt , yeast or starter. Blend until super smooth, adjusting the consistency with a little water if required. Should be the consistency of a thick creamy batter. Pour into a bowl and cover with a cloth and leave at room temperature to ferment for 12-24 hours.

To use mix the batter with a spoon until its cream. Should be the consistency of double cream. Pour into the hot appam pan and swirl around to coat the pan. Pop on a lid and cook over a low flame until golden and crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy in the centre. Serve with below sambol.

Seeni sambol :

¼ cup coconut oil

3 red onions, sliced

1 handful curry leaves

4 cardamom pods, bruised

2 cinnamon quill

2 cloves

2 tbs tamarind paste

2 tsp dried maldive fish (optional)

2 tbs raw sugar

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground turmeric

Heat the oil in a frypan over medium heat with the curry leaves, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes until softened then add the remaining ingredients, season with salt and cook until the onions are jammy and deep in colour.

Pol sambol:

1 ½ cups freshly shaved coconut

1 eschallot, finely chopped

2 tsp chili flakes

2 tsp ground dried maldive fish (optional)

1 tbs lime juice

Combine the coconut, eschalot, chilli (and maldive fish if using) in a mortar and pestle and pound until combined then stir through lime juice.

For more information about how you can join Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan in Sri Lanka visit the Luxury Escapes website