Ok, you may be wondering what I was up to that kept me back from posting on Wednesday as usual. Well, now you know. Since this is going to be a long post I will have to keep my words to a minimum, but you all know how I love to talk….
The Ultimate Street Food
Doubles is THE ULTIMATE Trini street food. It doesn’t get any better than this: it’s relatively cheap, tasty, wholesome, filling, fresh, piping hot and fits nicely in the palm of your hand.
Eating it comes to be a ritual: bend forward slightly to avoid the filling getting on your clothes; hold doubles opened in one hand while the other picks up the bara filled with the channa and condiments… Or if you find that too messy you can enjoy it like I do… unwrap one side and munch away like a veggie wrap or burrito. Then when you’re finished enjoy a cold coconut water; slight jelly!
Born right here in Trinidad and Tobago of humble beginnings, doubles has now become a staple in our diets and is synonymous with being Trini. Ask any Trinidadian abroad what they do as soon as they reach back home and I’m sure 99.9% will tell you “Get some doubles!”. 
We just can’t get enough. All in all, this is our food identity…Italians have their pizza, Mexicans their quesadillas, and us Trinis, we have Doubles.
Here’s Doubles. Enjoy!
Doubles Recipe
DOUBLES
Bara
1 lb flour
1 tsp saffron powder (tumeric)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp yeast
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 cups water
1 tbsp. oil
oil for frying
Channa
2 cups channa, soaked overnight
10 cups water, for boiling
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. curry
1 tsp. saffron (tumeric)
1 tsp. geera (cumin)
1 tsp. masala
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 onion, chopped finely
5 leaves chadon beni ( bandhania), chopped finely
salt and pepper to taste
BARA
Mix all the ingredients dry in a bowl.
Add the water and knead until a smooth dough is formed.
Then add the tablespoon of oil over the dough.
Cover with a cloth and leave to rest for 1 houror until double its size.
The dough looks ready now.
Spread a thin layer oil over the surface you’re using
Heat the oil over a medium to high flame…
and spread the bara dough with your hands.
Fry on both sides for 7 to 10 seconds
and then drain on paper towelsCHANNA
Soak the channa overnight,
and put to boil.
About 25 minutes later add the baking soda.
Continue boiling for about 30 minutes or until soft.
The channa is ready now.
Heat the oil over a medium flame.
Mix the curry, geera, and masala in 1/4 cup of water and add to the pot.
Then add the onion and garlic,
and saute until golden and the curry is just about to get dry.
Add the channa.
and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour enough water to cover the channa.
When its nearly finished mash a few of the channa to form a sauce.
Mix in the finely chopped chadon beni and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
The finished channa
Overlap two bara on wax paper,
add the channa,
and any condiment of your choice. Here, I have pepper sauce,chadon beni chutney, mango chutney and pommecythere kuchela.
I couldn’t find space to add coconut chutney and some tambran (tamarind) sauce
One doubles to go; with everything!Hope you enjoyed the doubles recipe. More recipes to come. Bye! Ah gone.
Thank you very nice recipe love the channa
What is Masala? Where can i get it? Thank you. Looking forward to making Doubles soon!
Masala is a spice. It is short for Amchar masala. You can get it at the supermarket.
Why do you add the baking soda to the channa?
That’s a little trick I learnt to help the channa cook faster. Not sure how it works just know it works.
I was missing home last night and decided to make doubles. I could not scarf dem dong fast enough. The ratio of curry to geera and masala seemed a little low though. Is it supposed to read 1 tbsp curry? (instead of 1 tsp?) Anyhow, dis recipe is so fantastic that I am making more doubles again today. If only I could find Peardrax or Apple J in Wisconsin
The Channa is not supposed to be like curry channa where you actually taste the curry more than anything else. But you can add more curry to yours if you like. Let taste decide. Good luck in finding some Peardrax …from Whiteway’s of Whimple
This doubles recipe was delicious. My son who was born in the United States had never seen it much less taste one. Now after making it for him, he’s requesting more. I’ll make it again in the summer. Thanks for the recipe which brings back memories of standing in line at the Tunapuna market waiting to order doubles; “gimme plenty a peppa sauce”.
I just attempted this recipe with the help of my husband we live in St Martin and he only ate it a few times in Trinidad when i saw this site i said i had to try it and it came out perfect i was a little worried about the consistency of the bara but everything came out perfect and my husband can’t stop eating them. I didn’t even have the ingredients for the condiments but next time i’ll be more prepared thank you so much. I am also pregnant and have been craving this forever and now i can finally have it whenever i feel.
Rashida I’m glad you enjoyed the doubles. And, I’ll continue pumping out great Trini recipes for you and everyone else to try. Thank you for taking the time to write such a heart warming comment.