| Lavariya | |
| Alternate Name: | Sweet stuffed string hoppers |
| Type: | Breakfast, Afternoon tea |
| Region: | Sri Lanka |
| National Cuisine: | Sri Lankan cuisine |
| Main Ingredient: | Rice flour, grated coconut, jaggery |
| Minor Ingredient: | Moong dal, Cardamom powder |
| Serving Size: | 100 g |
Lavariya (Sinhala; Sinhalese: ලැවරියා) is a popular traditional Sri Lankan sweet dumpling.[1] It is essentially caramelised coconut wrapped in a string hopper (Idiyappam).[2] It is usually served at breakfast or in the afternoon with tea and bananas.[3]
The dish is prepared by mixing rice flour with hot water, oil and seasoned with salt. It is then kneaded into a smooth dough. The dough mixture is used to fill an 'idiyappam' press or a sieve and the thin vermicelli-style noodles are pressed out onto banana leaves. The filling (Pol Pani) is a mix of grated coconut with moong dal and jaggery syrup, which is then placed inside the rice flour noodles in the shape of a half moon, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed before serving.[4] [5]