Doubles (food)
Encyclopedia
"Doubles" is a common street food
in Trinidad and Tobago
. It is a sandwich
made with two flat fried "breads", called "bara" filled with curried chick peas or garbanzo beans, commonly called channa (from Urdu/Hindi/Bhojpuri "chanaa"). Topped with a variety of spicy chutneys (mango
, cucumber
, coconut
, tamarind
) and extra pepper sauce (ranging from a dash "slight" to much more), this delicacy is undoubtedly the most popular fast food in Trinidad and Tobago. It is usually eaten for breakfast, and sometimes lunch, but can be a late night snack as well. Among the many popular doubles "hot spots" are the pioneer - Sleepy's Doubles at St Helena Junction, Deen's Doubles in San Juan, Ali's Doubles in San Fernando, "Sauce Doubles" in Curepe, "Johnny's Doubles" in La Romaine and Golconda.
is a quick bread made of flour
, baking powder
, salt
, and ground turmeric
, which gives the bread its yellow color. It is flattened to a thin round disk about four or five inches in diameter and fried until golden brown. The bara (from Hindi/Bhojpuri "bara") is then filled with the channa ready to be sold. There is no set recipe for the channa, which can be just curried or mixed with curry
and dhal (split peas, usually the yellow variety, from Hindi/Bhojpuri "dhal").
As the demand for Deen's Doubles increased, Mamudeen employed his two brothers-in-law, Asgar Ali and Choate Ali to sell Deen's Doubles in 1937.
The Ali brothers launched their own Ali's doubles brand in 1938. Asgar Ali chose San Fernando for his sales district and Naparima College
in particular as his historical starting point.Choate Ali remained in Princes Town while Mamudeen expanded to San Juan and Port of Spain.
One of Mamudeen's sons, Shamaloo Deen, later sold Deen's Doubles in his restaurant "Deen's Diner" on Marion Street, St. Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba on the Canadian Prairies where most of the channa consumed in Trinidad is grown.
Some culinary historians plausibly assume that Doubles evolved from the Indian dish Chole Bhature (also called Chana Bhatura), which is a combination of Chole (Chana masala), spicy chick peas and the Bhature (Poori), a fried puffy bread made of maida flour which is used in the making of Indian pastries, bread and biscuits.
Chole Bhature is a dish served with onions and achar and commonly eaten in northern India. It is served with one large Bhature which is eaten like chapati to scoop up the Chole and not presented as a sandwich like Doubles. The taste difference between Chole Bhature and Doubles is distinctive as the bara is made from all-purpose flour and spices and Trinidadian curries and chutneys have evolved with their own unique taste characteristics.
Vendors sell doubles out of a box. Mamudeen, the pioneer of doubles was the first to build a wooden box, painted yellow, to fit his freight bicycle from which he sold Deen's doubles. When automobiles replaced the freight bicycles the box remained to preserve the original sales image for doubles. A few vendors fry their Baras in makeshift kitchens in the back of pickup trucks; the channa however, continues to be produced in their home-based kitchens.Doubles frequently sell in Trinidad.
Street food
Street food is ready-to-eat food or drink sold in a street or other public place, such as a market or fair, by a hawker or vendor, often from a portable stall. While some street foods are regional, many are not, having spread beyond their region of origin. Most street food are both finger and fast...
in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
. It is a sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
made with two flat fried "breads", called "bara" filled with curried chick peas or garbanzo beans, commonly called channa (from Urdu/Hindi/Bhojpuri "chanaa"). Topped with a variety of spicy chutneys (mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
, cucumber
Cucumber
The cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, which includes squash, and in the same genus as the muskmelon. The plant is a creeping vine which bears cylindrical edible fruit when ripe. There are three main varieties of cucumber: "slicing", "pickling", and...
, coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
, tamarind
Tamarind
Tamarind is a tree in the family Fabaceae. The genus Tamarindus is monotypic .-Origin:...
) and extra pepper sauce (ranging from a dash "slight" to much more), this delicacy is undoubtedly the most popular fast food in Trinidad and Tobago. It is usually eaten for breakfast, and sometimes lunch, but can be a late night snack as well. Among the many popular doubles "hot spots" are the pioneer - Sleepy's Doubles at St Helena Junction, Deen's Doubles in San Juan, Ali's Doubles in San Fernando, "Sauce Doubles" in Curepe, "Johnny's Doubles" in La Romaine and Golconda.
Recipe
The breadBread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
is a quick bread made of flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
, baking powder
Baking powder
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods such as muffins, cakes, scones and American-style biscuits. Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in...
, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, and ground turmeric
Turmeric
Turmeric is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive...
, which gives the bread its yellow color. It is flattened to a thin round disk about four or five inches in diameter and fried until golden brown. The bara (from Hindi/Bhojpuri "bara") is then filled with the channa ready to be sold. There is no set recipe for the channa, which can be just curried or mixed with curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
and dhal (split peas, usually the yellow variety, from Hindi/Bhojpuri "dhal").
History
The origins of this food began in Trinidad by the Deen family, Emamool Deen (a.k.a. Mamudeen) and his wife Rasulan in 1936 in Fairfield Princes Town. The name 'doubles' originated in 1937. When Mamudeen started the business the products he sold were Fried Channa wrapped in cone-shaped packs. He diversified his product line soon after by adding Curried Channa with chutney. He then introduced a single Bara with the curried channa. His customers would ask him to "double-up" on the Bara hence the name "doubles" evolved and Deen's Doubles became the pioneering brand.As the demand for Deen's Doubles increased, Mamudeen employed his two brothers-in-law, Asgar Ali and Choate Ali to sell Deen's Doubles in 1937.
The Ali brothers launched their own Ali's doubles brand in 1938. Asgar Ali chose San Fernando for his sales district and Naparima College
Naparima College
Naparima College is a secondary school for teenaged males in Trinidad and Tobago. Located in San Fernando, the school was founded in 1894, but did not receive official recognition until 1900. The was established by Dr. Kenneth J. Grant, a Canadian Presbyterian missionary working among the Indian...
in particular as his historical starting point.Choate Ali remained in Princes Town while Mamudeen expanded to San Juan and Port of Spain.
One of Mamudeen's sons, Shamaloo Deen, later sold Deen's Doubles in his restaurant "Deen's Diner" on Marion Street, St. Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba on the Canadian Prairies where most of the channa consumed in Trinidad is grown.
Some culinary historians plausibly assume that Doubles evolved from the Indian dish Chole Bhature (also called Chana Bhatura), which is a combination of Chole (Chana masala), spicy chick peas and the Bhature (Poori), a fried puffy bread made of maida flour which is used in the making of Indian pastries, bread and biscuits.
Chole Bhature is a dish served with onions and achar and commonly eaten in northern India. It is served with one large Bhature which is eaten like chapati to scoop up the Chole and not presented as a sandwich like Doubles. The taste difference between Chole Bhature and Doubles is distinctive as the bara is made from all-purpose flour and spices and Trinidadian curries and chutneys have evolved with their own unique taste characteristics.
Vendors sell doubles out of a box. Mamudeen, the pioneer of doubles was the first to build a wooden box, painted yellow, to fit his freight bicycle from which he sold Deen's doubles. When automobiles replaced the freight bicycles the box remained to preserve the original sales image for doubles. A few vendors fry their Baras in makeshift kitchens in the back of pickup trucks; the channa however, continues to be produced in their home-based kitchens.Doubles frequently sell in Trinidad.