Trinidad Doubles are the most popular street food found all over both Trinidad and Tobago. It is a popular breakfast food as well as eaten as a street snack anytime of the day or a late-night favorite. They are often served on parchment paper or waxed paper with a squeeze of lemon juice or lime juice.
They are called doubles because there are two small yellow fried pieces of dough called baras that make up the base of this delicious bite. Although they are fried in vegetable oil, they have a soft pillowy texture and a bold yellow colour that comes from turmeric. You can use however much you like but if you want that beautiful color, you need to use a bit of extra turmeric.
The main ingredient is a curried chickpea filling that is placed on top of the bara’s called channa. The curry chickpeas should be a bit runny and flavored with garlic, roasted cumin powder, turmeric powder and a bit of salt. You can use a bouillon cube for extra flavor added to the water. Some people add a scotch bonnet chili for some fiery heat.
Then there are the toppings, a cilantro and cucumber chutney is extremely popular and called chadon beni sauce. Tamarind sauce or tamarind chutney, a mango chutney, coconut chutney and hot pepper sauce they call Peppah sauce. Some people love them will lots of toppings and some like them just with the hot channa aka chickpea curry.
These delicious bites are served day and night on the streets. If you are in Trinidad and Tobago then of course you would just go to your local doubles vendor. If not, you can make them at home and they are totally worth it. The beautiful part of making the Trinidad Doubles recipe at home is tweaking of the recipe. You can add more or less of what you like to your taste.
Looking for more delicious recipes to enjoy with your Trini Doubles?
Try Macaroni Pie for a main course
And Trinidad Coconut rolls for dessert.
If you would like to learn more about these Caribbean Islands, their traditions, food and culture be sure to check out “Our Journey to Trinidad and Tobago” there you will also find more authentic and ancestral recipes like this popular Trinidad Doubles Recipe .
Craving even more? Be sure to join the culinary and cultural journey around the world, so you don’t miss a thing, it’s free. You can also follow me on social media Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and youtube to follow along our journey.
Trinidad Doubles Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Bara's
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 cup lukewarm water +/-
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil for rubbing on the dough
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying the bara's.
Ingredients for the Channa (Chickpea filling)
- 1/2 lb. chickpeas, dried
- 1 tsp baking soda divided
- 1 Tbsp culantro minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp turmeric use more or less according to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin, ground roasted
- 1 tsp salt +/- to taste
Instructions
Making the Bara's
- In a medium bowl, add the flour, salt, yeast, sugar and turmeric, mix together.
- Add lukewarm water slowly and mix together to form a soft, slightly sticky dough. Do not over mix.
- Rub the dough with oil and set aside to rest for 6 hours.
- Divide the dough into 16 balls.
- Cover the balls and allow to raise for another hour or until doubled in size.
- Rub some oil on a plate. Flatten the dough out to a round to about the size of the palm of your hand.
- Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, place a piece of the dough in hot oil and fry until golden brown, then flip over to fry the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon to drain off as much oil as possible and place on a paper towel.
- Repeat until all the dough is cooked stacking the Bara's one on top of the other.
- Serve hot with the Channa recipe.
Instructions for the Channa filling
- Soak the dried chickpeas while the dough is rising about 6 hours or overnight in water with 1/2 tsp of baking soda. Drain and rinse several times.
- In a large pot add about 6 cups of water and place over high heat. Add the chickpeas, I teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and skim off any impurities that rise to the surface. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cook until tender about 1 hour, add minced culantro, minced garlic and turmeric, mix well. If you are adding in any hot peppers you can add it here.
- Cook for another 15 minutes or so stirring with a wooden spoon until you get a nice thick consistency.
- Add in the ground roasted cumin and taste for salt.
- Serve on the hot Bara's and serve with your chutney of choice enjoy your doubles!
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