Facts About Doubles
Doubles is a common street food originating from Trinidad and Tobago. 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 are made with two baras and filled with curry channa and various chutneys. Doubles was first created in Fairfield, Princes Town by Emamool Deen and his wife Raheman Rasulan Deen in 1936.
Origins
It has been speculated that the dish was inspired by a northern Indian dish called chole bhature (or sometimes channa bhatura). Chole bhature is made by combining channa masala with spicy chickpeas and bhature (poori), which is a fried bread made with maida flour, a common flour in Indian baking.
The name doubles arose when Mamudeen used to sell the bara (flat fried dough) used to make doubles, alongside the channa (chickpeas). It wasn't until the people buying these two items from Mamudeen began requesting to double the bara in their orders which is why the name doubles stuck.
Preparation
Doubles can be served spicy, sweet, or savory depending on the preference of the individual preparing or buying the double. The sandwich consisting of the two baras gets its spicy kick from the spicy pepper sauce added to it. It is also paired with mango, chandon beni (also known as culantro), coconut, and tamarind.
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 culturally significant outside of Trinidad as it is a comfort food for displaced Trinidadians in major cities across the globe who have historically been marginalized as immigrants. The consumption of doubles by immigrants from Trinidad has been credited with developing a "deep psychological imprinting" and as such is such is considered culturally significant for how it encapsulated Trinidadian identity into such a simple and unique snack.