Family Visits - Part 2

Two Indiappa aka Stringhoppers

I had mentioned stringhoppers (indiappa in Sinhala or indiappam in Tamil) in an earlier post and there had been a question or two about what they were.  They are a type of noodles made from rice flour dough, which is pressed through a mold in thin string like strands in circular motions onto a round woven mat until a mound of strings are formed and then, the trays are stacked in a steamer and the dough is steamed.  Once cooked, the indiappa are removed from the trays and are eaten with curries. The two indiappa shown in the photo above were made with red rice flour, thus their reddish tint.  Red rice is a type of unpolished rice with the bran still left on the rice; similar to brown rice, but, the bran on this rice is red in color.  

On Friday, my daughter and I visited my cousin V and her husband for the New Year.  V had invited us to lunch and she made something called appa (in Sinhala), appam (in Tamil) and hoppers in English!  It has been described as a type of pancake, made with a fermented batter of rice flour and coconut milk.

Appa/Hopper Batter

A spoon of batter is swirled around a small, wok-shaped pan known as appa thachchi or appa chatti or hopper pan, and covered with a lid to allow it to bake:

Hoppers Being Cooked in Hopper Pans

 

After a few minutes, a bowl shaped hopper is formed, with thin, crisp edges and a soft, steamed center.  Depending on the amount of batter poured into the pan, the center can be thick and pillowy or thin.  I prefer a thin center and that's how my cousin made them:

One Appa or Hopper Ready to be Taken Out of the Pan

Often, a raw egg will be broken into the center and allowed to cook until just set and then, they are called egg hoppers (biththara appa in Sinhala).  I don't like egg hoppers, so my cousin didn't make any.  

Once they are cooked, they are ready to be eaten with curries:

Appa/Hopper Ready for Eating

Cousin V had made an assortment of curries to accompany the appa/hoppers - chicken curry, tomato curry, seeni sambol, another type of spicy sambol known as lunu miris (basically, finely diced raw onions, chili powder, salt, and lemon juice), and spicy sauteed potatoes.  For dessert, there were an assortment of Sri Lankan New Year sweets, similar to what my friend S brought over on New Year's Day.  V had also made a sweet drink we call faluda (also spelled as falooda), but I forgot to take a picture of it.  The meal was quite a feast!

Afterwards, we sat and chatted for a bit and exchanged gifts.  I gave my cousin a jar of my peach jam and a jar of tomato chutney; she gave me a beautiful sweater and a scarf and gave my daughter a lovely blouse and a light hooded jacket.  I gave my sweater to my daughter, to take back with her  and she is keeping the blouse down here as it is good for the summer, but, summers in Berkeley tend to be on the cool side.  I also took the gifts for the rest of the family: for my cousin R (V's sister) who is currently in Europe, for V's son and for V's daughter, to be given to them when V sees them next.  

After we came home, I vacuumed the living room using my new robot vacuum, did several loads of laundry including some of the linen used for the almsgiving and my bed sheets, ironed the tray cloth and napkins used for the almsgiving (they need to be ironed while still damp in order to give them that crisp, freshly starched look), took out the kitchen trash and the kitchen compost, and chatted with M when he arrived to tend to the garden.  Daughter helped me to put the bed skirt back on and to remake my bed.  

I cooked some frozen gyoza (pot stickers) for our dinner, even though the fridge is still full of leftovers from the almsgiving!  

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Visiting my cousin V and her husband
- The wonderful meal V made for us
- A safe drive there and back
- M helping with the garden
- Working appliances

Friday's joyful activity was visiting cousin V.

I've had more social visits and activities this week than I've had in months, recently!  I had my mask on during most of the visits, except at my sisters (I took my mask off when we sat down to have lunch and didn't put it back on, afterwards) and at V's.  I guess both family visits were calculated risks as we didn't wear masks.  I am hoping that there will be no repercussions as a result of going without masks!  

We are planning to stay home, on Saturday, and take it easy.  Enjoy the last full day of daughter being home.  I might get my vacuum cleaner to vacuum the dining area, tomorrow, and have my daughter help me put away the almsgiving dishes back in the upper cabinets until they are needed, next.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for Saturday?