Doubles are a Trinidadian street food staple. This doubles recipe features curried channa stuffed between two lightly fried baras (hence the name doubles!). Think chickpea sandwich with lots of flavor. A delicious combination that’s packed with flavor.
Happy Sunday!
Doubles, round two…
I am so excited for today’s doubles recipe. I have made doubles before, but the first time I made it, I didn’t make the bara, which is the fried dough that serves as the bread for the sandwich. It was the second recipe on my blog, and I knew I really wanted to remake it. So here we are!
The recipe…
Doubles are made up of two main components: the bread or bara, and the filling or channa.
First, the bara. Start by combining flour, baking soda, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and turmeric for color. I also like to add some curry powder to the dough for additional flavor. Knead the dough until combined, then add oil. The dough wil be sticky. When you are ready to fry, use your hands and a small salad plate to shape the bara dough into rounds. It’s fine if you don’t get a perfectly round shape, that just gives the dough more character!
TIP – If you want to see how I shape the bara dough, check my Instagram highlights.
Fry the bara one at a time in hot oil for 5 seconds per side. If the oil is hot enough, the bara will cook up very quickly. Remove from the oil and stack on a plate lined with a paper towel. The baras will puff slightly as they cool.
For the channa, I used canned chickpeas. Start by sauteing onions and garlic, then add curry powder, turmeric, and salt. Cook the spices for a few seconds until they become fragrant. Add the chickpeas and cook uncovered for another 15 minutes, or until the chickpeas are tender. Finally, stir in cilanto (or culantro) and coriander, mash up a few of the chickpeas, and simmer for another 5 minutes.
Serve by scooping a generous amount of channa onto one of the baras, then top with another bara. This recipe is called “doubles” because you traditionally use two pieces of dough. But I also like to eat mine as an open faced sandwich! Top with hot sauce, and garnish with cilantro.
Are double vegan?
Yes! This doubles recipe is completely vegan. That makes it a delicious meal that is actually pretty healthy, as far as street food goes.
But you won’t be thinking about the lack of meat or dairy because this is a filling meal with lots of flavor.
Looking for more easy recipes? Try:
Grilled Peanut Crusted Suya Chicken Kebabs
Share this recipe…
If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know by rating it and leaving a comment below. I would love to hear from you. And don’t forget to tag @sweetandsorrel on Instagram!
Doubles
Ingredients
Bara
- 2 cups AP flour
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- salt
- 1/2 cup warm water (plus more if needed)
- 1 tbsp oil + more for frying
Channa
- 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained
- 1/4 small onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro/culantro
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- water
- salt
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, instant yeast, baking powder, brown sugar, salt, turmeric, and curry powder. Slowly pour in warm water. Use hands to gently work dough into a ball. Pour oil over the dough and knead until the dough forms a sticky ball. Cover dough with a paper towel and let it sit for 30 minutes, until it doubles in size.
- Fill a 5 qt dutch oven with about 4 cups of oil and heat on medium low heat. Uncover dough and pull off a small piece (I got about 10 baras). Use your hands to flatten and shape the baras, and then place on a small saucer to stretch. Working with one bara at a time, fry dough in the oil for about 5 seconds, then flip and fry for another 5 seconds. If the baras do not fry up immediately, the oil is not hot enough. Use tongs to remove bara from hot oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Repeat for the rest of the bara. Place in oven to keep warm while you prepare the channa.
- To prepare the channa, heat oil in a medium saute pan. Add garlic and onions. Saute until the onions become translucent, about 3 minutes. Add spices and cook for another minute. Add chickpeas and water, then cook uncovered for another 15 minutes. Stir in diced cilantro/culantro and coriander, and use a fork to crush up a few of the chickpeas. Let channa simmer for another 5 minutes.
- To serve, spoon a generous amount of channa onto one of the baras, then top with another bara. Garnish with hot sauce, cilantro sauce, and fresh cilantro. You can also serve an open faced sandwish using one bara. Serve immediately.
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @sweetandsorrel on Instagram and hashtag it #sweetandsorrel so we can see all the deliciousness!
2 Comments
Very excited to try this out!
Can’t wait until you try them! Let me know how it turns out.