Doubles (food)

Doubles is a common street food originating in Trinidad and Tobago. It consists of curried chickpeas served on two fried flatbreads. It is normally eaten during breakfast, but is also eaten occasionally during lunch or as a late night snack and popular hangover food.

Origins
Doubles as a dish was created in Princes Town by Emamool "Mamoodeen" Deen and his wife Raheman Rasulan Deen in 1936. Deen used to sell curried chickpeas over single fried flatbread with chutneys. When his customers began requesting to double the bara in their orders the name “doubles” was coined.

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.

Preparation
As a base for the curry, onions, garlic and curry powder are fried briefly. Boiled and drained chickpeas are added together with some water and spices, primarily cumin. The curry is cooked until the chickpeas are tender. A dough is prepared, shaped into flattened circles and briefly deep fried. Doubles can be served spicy, sweet, or savory. Condiments include spicy pepper sauce, kuchela, or green mango, culantro), cucumber, coconut, and tamarind 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 a simple and unique snack.