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Doubles is a common
street food Street food is ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by a hawker, or vendor, in a street or at other public places, such as markets or fairs. It is often sold from a portable food booth, food cart, or food truck and is meant for immediate consumption ...
originating in
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
of
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
origin. It is normally eaten during breakfast, but is also eaten occasionally during lunch or as a late night snack and popular hangover food for local Trinidadians. Doubles is made with two '' baras'' (flat fried dough) and filled with ''
curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
channa ''Channa'' is a genus of predatory fish in the family Channidae, commonly known as snakeheads, native to freshwater habitats in Asia. This genus contains about 50 scientifically described species. The genus has a wide natural distribution extend ...
'' (curried chickpeas) and various
chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce. ...
s.


Origins

Doubles as a dish was created in Princes Town, by Emamool Deen (a.k.a. Mamoodeen) and his wife Raheman Rasulan Deen in 1936. It has been speculated that it was inspired by a northern Indian dish called ''chole bhature'' (or sometimes ''channa bhatura''). ''Chole bhature'' is made by combining ''channa masala'' and ''bhature'' (''poori''), which is a fried bread made with ''maida'' flour, a common flour in Indian baking. Mamoodeen used to sell curried channa (chickpeas) over single baras (fried flatbread) with chutneys. When his customers began requesting to double the bara in their orders the name “doubles” was coined.


Preparation

Doubles can be served spicy, sweet, or savory. Condiments include spicy pepper sauce,
kuchela Sudama (), also known as Kuchela (), is a childhood friend of the Hindu deity Krishna. The story of his visit to Dvaraka to meet his friend is featured in the Bhagavata Purana. In their legend, Sudama and Krishna study together as children a ...
, or green mango, bandhaniya (also known as chadon beni or
culantro ''Eryngium foetidum'' is a tropical perennial herb in the family Apiaceae. Common names include culantro ( or ), recao, chadon beni (pronounced shadow benny), Mexican coriander, bhandhania, long coriander, sawtooth coriander, and ngò gai. It i ...
),
cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.
,
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
, and
tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs ...
chutneys.


Cultural significance

Given the diversity of Trinidad, doubles is credited with its ability to "define and maintain symbolic boundaries of identification", and is considered an authentic standard of Trinidadian cuisine. Doubles is a comfort food for displaced Trinidadians in major cities across the globe. Its consumption has been credited with developing a "deep psychological imprinting" among them, and as such is considered culturally significant for how it encapsulated Trinidadian identity into such a simple and unique snack.


See also

*
Cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago has a unique history and its food is influenced by Indian-South Asian, West African, Creole, European, American, Chinese, Amerindian, and Latin American culinary styles. Trinidad and Tobagonian food is dominated by a wi ...


References


External links


Doubles Recipe
{{Surinamese cuisine Bread dishes Chickpea dishes Curry dishes Deep fried foods Indo-Caribbean cuisine Street food Trinidad and Tobago cuisine Vegetarian sandwiches Surinamese cuisine Guyanese cuisine