Doubles (food)

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Ali's Doubles in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago

Doubles is a common street food in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a sandwich made with two flat fried breads, called "bara" (hence the name "doubles"), filled with curried chick peas or garbanzo beans, commonly called channa (from 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, but can be a late night snack as well.

The bread 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 dal (split peas, usually the yellow variety, from Hindi/Bhojpuri "dal").

Doubles are not limited to household and restaurant kitchens. There are doubles vendors all across the country, selling doubles out of a box, and even made fresh on the spot by a doubles truck. The doubles is fried on the spot, usually in a makeshift kitchen in the back of a pickup truck.

Some renowned doubles vendors, famous for their excellent taste and consistent quality are "Singh's Doubles" located at Barataria Roundabout in San Juan, "Sauce" located at Curepe Junction, "George" located outside Brooklyn Bar, Woodbrook, "Randy's Doubles" located junction at Mon Repos roundabout, San Fernando opposite Comfort Zone, "The Green Shed" in Debe and "Ali's Doubles" with locations nationwide.

Doubles is said to be invented by the "Persad" Caste of Indians, in the 1840s when East Indians from Calcutta, Indians came as indentured labourers to Trinidad and other Caribbean and South American countries.^{[dubious – discuss]} The name "doubles" was said to originate in the 1900's in a school called Naparima College, in south Trinidad. When the vendors sold the Bara it was usually a single Bara with curry channa.However the students sometimes wanted more and would ask for a "doubles" which consisted of two Baras and hence the name Doubles evolved.^{[citation needed]}