Today we are heading to Trinidad to explore their most iconic street food, Doubles.
A little history about this delicious food.
Doubles simply explained is two deep fried flat breads, slathered with a hearty serving of chickpeas sandwiched in the middle and topped with a variety of peppery sauces.
It is sold on the streets in makeshifts stalls fitted with boxes to hold buckets of chickpeas, chutneys and a cooler to hold the bara. You will not find this delicacy sold in restaurants. Doubles is not just a street food it is part of the cultural existence of Trini people.
History states that the Ali family was the first to create this delicious food and it has since evolved. Many people now have their own carts and there are a variety of toppings that goes with it these days. From shrimp to goat! Doubles is most popular at breakfast time, however is it one of the best hangover foods!
Most people will be surprised to know that there is no curry in the chickpeas. Infact today the chickpeas is mixed with yellow split pea. This not only helps with that light yellow color but it stretches the channa. Today the price of a doubles is $6.00. Going from $1 back in the day to $6 is with the rising cost of goods.
If you ever make it to Trinidad, you must have a doubles, with slight or plenty pepper with a red solo or Apple jay! And you stand on the side of the road in front of the vendor and eat about 4 while he makes it right there for you.
In the meantime for those of us who do not have the luxury of having a doubles vendor nearby, this is the next best thing! You can make your own in the comfort of your home.
I have made this recipe over a dozen times, just tweaking every time. You may not get the consistency of the dough the first time. This takes practice. But it is so worth it.
For the Shadow beni sauce, I did not have shadow beni so I used the next best thing, cilantro. It worked even better!
Do not use baking soda in this recipe. Tumeric powder reacts to baking soda. So make sure it is baking powder you are using.
Check out the video on YouTube for tips and tricks. Be sure to subscribe and give it a thumbs up!
Click here for Trini Doubles Recipe.
2 comments
I never realized Tumeric was in the dough, like all my life. I used to eat this as a kid back in the island so we had doubles, because well island folks move round in traveling and hopping to the other islands. I had a tought when was stretching the dough in the vid, which i know is how its done by hand by tradition, but i did think to self if put that dough in one the thing used to press out Tortilla that could also be interesting. May have to try that idea out one day. But luv the recipe idea, i’ll have to make it sometime soon. I usually just wing it anyway just knowing the ingredients list. The dough, yeah i’ll stick to the actual recipe. This is good guest/party food in thinking as well!
I don’t remember how long it’s been, but it’s been a long time and a long time since i’ve remembered my way here. What is amazing is just like that, straight out of the blue i watching something on youtube and i had an immediate thought. Typed the url into the browser and here i was. I don’t know why i had that sudden compulsion to arrive back here at my corner seat, but i did. So i haven’t died or anything like that. I just stopped cooking alot, reading blogs and all that and just more time doing other things and studying for other things too. Cooked creatively less and it just didn’t seem like a big prioty anymore at the time to keep up with as much things foodie related. At best over time, i forgot where here was unfortunately. That was until a few moments ago when out of the blue and ether i had a sudden thought, remembered how to get here.
Hope all is well. My table seat still seems to still here. The food looks great, some interesting stuff i see too. However, that was all true how and how i out of the blue got here today!