It has been said that Trinidadians have all gone 'yellow belly' since 'Doubles' have become a prime source for a quick snack during the lunch hour. Lines can be seen in the popular areas and a thriving business takes place for curried Channa spiced just right and sandwiched between fried tender soft chappatis.
Yes we are talking about Barra and Channa (Chick Peas) spiced with Chutney and serious hot sauce (made from Trini yellow peppers). It tastes even better if one can add a little bit of curried mango sauce and or some "shadow benni" dressing. Now not all doubles are created equal and the line will tell you who has the best just the same way you know who has the best 'bake and shark' sandwiches in Trinidad.
I was able to locate a recipe for those adventurous enough to attempt making their own doubles. The recipe comes from the very famous "Naparima Girls' High School Cookbook". Give it a try but you will have to do it a few times before you get a product that you can say, "Yes this is the damn t'ing self!"
Ingredients for the Bara:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon gheera (cumin)
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 teaspoon yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1/4 tsp sugar
Oil for frying
Here are the ingredients for the Channa (Chick Peas) filler:
1 14 oz Channa, tinned
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tsp ground geera (cumin)
1 tsp Pepper sauce
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
The following video was sourced from Google's YouTube and is presented here so that you can smile and also yearn to eat some'doubles now. Doubles have come a long way in our beloved Trinbago!.