Doubles (Trinidadian Curried Chickpea Street Food)

About This Recipe

Doubles is Trinidad and Tobago's undisputed street food champion, sold from roadside carts from early morning until the day's batch runs out, often to a line of regulars who know exactly which vendor makes the best version. The name comes from the dish's construction: two pieces of bara, a soft, slightly chewy flatbread flavored with turmeric and ground split peas, sandwich a scoop of curried channa (chickpeas) spiced with a Trinidadian curry powder blend heavy on ground cumin and coriander seeds toasted before grinding, a technique that distinguishes island curry powder from other Caribbean and South Asian versions. What makes doubles genuinely addictive, beyond the soft-meets-spiced textures, is the customizable finish — a drizzle of tangy tamarind sauce called chutney, a scatter of cucumber kuchela (a spicy shredded mango or cucumber relish), and as much or as little fiery homemade pepper sauce as a customer dares to ask for. Eaten standing at the roadside, wrapped in wax paper with no utensils, doubles is inexpensive, deeply flavorful, and considered by many Trinidadians the truest taste of home, a legacy of the Indian indentured laborers who brought their culinary traditions to the island in the 19th century and adapted them into something distinctly Trinidadian.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 1 tspinstant yeast
• 1 tspground turmeric
• 0.5 tspground cumin
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 cupwarm water
• 1 litrevegetable oil, for frying
• 2 canschickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbspvegetable oil, for the curry
• 1 smallonion, finely diced
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 1 tbspTrinidadian curry powder
• 1 tspground cumin, for the curry
• 1scotch bonnet pepper, whole (do not cut)
• 2 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1.5 cupswater, for the curry
• 1 tspfine salt, for the curry
• 0.5 cuptamarind chutney, for serving
• 0.25 cuphomemade pepper sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the bara dough

   Combine flour, yeast, turmeric, cumin, and salt in a bowl. Gradually add warm water, mixing to a soft, slightly sticky batter-like dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place 2 hours until doubled and bubbly.

2. 2

   Make the curried channa

   Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add curry powder and cumin, and toast in the oil for 1 minute until fragrant.

3. 3

   Simmer the chickpeas

   Add chickpeas, whole scotch bonnet, thyme, water, and salt. Simmer 20 minutes, mashing some of the chickpeas against the side of the pot to thicken the curry slightly. Remove the whole pepper before serving (or leave in for those who want extra heat).

4. 4

   Shape the bara

   Once the dough has risen, oil your hands well (the dough is sticky) and pull off small portions, patting them into thin rounds about 8cm across directly onto oiled parchment or your palm.

5. 5

   Fry the bara

   Heat oil to 180°C. Fry each bara for about 30-45 seconds per side until puffed and light golden — they cook very quickly and should stay soft, not crisp. Drain on paper towels.

6. 6

   Assemble

   Lay two bara slightly overlapping. Spoon a generous scoop of curried channa in the center. Drizzle with tamarind chutney and pepper sauce to taste. Fold and eat immediately.

Variations

• •

  Aloo (potato) can be added to the channa curry alongside the chickpeas for extra heartiness.

• •

  Some vendors offer a spicier 'slight' or 'heavy' pepper option, adjusting how much pepper sauce is drizzled on.

• •

  A version called 'saheena' uses the same bara-style batter wrapped around dasheen (taro) leaves instead of channa filling.

Storage

Curried channa keeps refrigerated up to 4 days and reheats well on the stovetop with a splash of water. Bara is best fried fresh; leftover bara can be reheated briefly in a dry skillet but won't regain its original pillowy texture as well as fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions