Doubles (Curry Chickpeas and Spicy Flatbread) are the most famous of Trinidad’s street snacks or sandwiches. Spicy chickpeas sandwiched between deliciously chewy flatbread epitomize Trinidad and Tobago street food culture. And it’s my favorite Caribbean street food – hands down.
Spicy, messy, and sensational, this recipe is not your everyday sandwich. I don’t use sensational lightly, but when I do, it has to count for something. This sandwich, my friend, is not your everyday fare.
Once you taste this soul-satisfying goodness, you’ll crave it ALL the time. Where delicious ends, this sandwich begins. What I’m trying to say is that it goes beyond delicious!!!
Doubles: A One-of-a-Kind Treat
Why am I tempting you with so many pictures? Because I want you to try it. Doubles, in a nutshell, are curry chickpeas infused with aromatic spices sandwiched between two deep-fried, aromatic flatbreads (bara).
What makes it so amazing? Channa (curried chickpeas) creates the ideal filling between two bara (flatbread). Top it with optional hot sauce, grated cucumber, or chutney. The best part is you can customize them and make them as mild or spicy as your taste buds crave!
Recipe Ingredients
Here is my recreation of this sensational Trinidad sandwich with pantry staples. Loaded with tons of flavor but not too greasy. The wait is the hardest part.😉
- Homemade Flatbread Recipe – All-purpose flour is a traditional flatbread base. Cumin spices it up, and turmeric adds a gorgeous yellow. I prefer yeast flatbread, but for a quicker version, go with baking powder.
- Curry Spices – I used my channa aloo, chickpea curry, without the potatoes. Curry powder, onion, garlic, allspice, nutmeg, smoked paprika, thyme, cumin, and white pepper deliver the chickpeas’ signature flavor. A scotch bonnet pepper helps kick up the heat.
- Chickpeas – The base of the channa, chickpeas lend a nutty, slightly earthy flavor to the curry. Bouillon and broth
- Broth – Broth, water, or bouillon and water create a delectable sauce and more flavor.
How to Make Doubles
Flatbread (Bara)
- Combine – In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, cumin, turmeric, and yeast. Mix thoroughly. (Photo 1)
- Make Dough – Add warm water a little at a time until you get the desired consistency – a soft, slightly sticky ball. If the dough is too sticky, oil your hands to prevent it from sticking. Knead for a minute or two. (Photo 2)
- Rise – Place dough in an oiled bowl. Set it in a warm area and let it rise and double in size—1-2 hours. Then punch it down. (Photos 3-4)
- Divide the dough into 18 or more medium-sized pieces. You can make them smaller for appetizers. (Photo 5)
- Roll – Place each piece on a cutting board or palm of your hand. If the dough ball is too sticky, oil both sides. Roll out flat and set aside or place directly in the frying pan. Repeat with the remainder of the dough. (Photo 6)
- Heat – In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium until the oil is about 350℉ (175℃).
- Cook – Fry for about 30 seconds or less on each side. The bara should puff up. Take it out of the oil with a large spoon or something similar. Place them on paper towels right away to soak up the excess oil. (Photos 7-8))
- Serve doubles by placing one bara on a plate, spooning one tablespoon of the chickpea filling on it, and topping desired condiments. Then top with another bara.
Chickpea Curry (Channa)
- Saute – While the bara dough rises, heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add onions, garlic, thyme, cumin, allspice, smoked paprika, nutmeg, and curry powder. Stir occasionally for 2-3 minutes until onions are translucent. Add a bit of stock or water if necessary to prevent burning.
- Add – Next, add chickpeas, scotch bonnet, green onion, and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until the sauce thickens (about 20 minutes). Throw in some parsley, and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Recipe Variations
- Vegan – Replace the bouillon and broth with vegetable bouillon and broth for a filling vegan meal.
- Lemon – Top the doubles with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
- Open-Face – Although doubles use two flatbreads with the filling in the middle, you can top one bara for an open-face sandwich.
- Garnish – Optional toppings include chopped white onion, fresh cilantro, grated cucumber, pepper sauce, or green mango chutney.
- Meat Add-In – Add cooked chicken, duck, or shrimp for a complete meal.
Tips and Tricks
- Double dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If it’s too sticky, let it rest on the counter for about 10 minutes so it absorbs more water and is easier to handle.
- The flatbread fries quickly, so keep your eye on it while frying. If you prefer a more golden flatbread, fry it for 1-2 seconds more on each side.
- To get a beautiful golden-brown color on your flatbread, maintain a consistent oil temperature. You may need to lower the heat midway through cooking for the best results.
Make-Ahead Instructions
This recipe is a great make-ahead snack! You can make the bara dough the day before, allow it to rise on the counter for about an hour, and then refrigerate it. Then, remove it from the refrigerator and roll out the dough before frying.
You can also make the curry chickpeas ahead; it’s even tastier the next day. Prepare, refrigerate overnight, and reheat before serving. If they get a little dry while reheating, a splash of water or broth will fix it.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Soft bara is so good at room temperature, filled with warm chickpea curry, and topped with fresh condiments! To keep the flatbreads moist, line a pot or baking dish with paper towels and place the flatbreads inside while frying. Cover it with the lid while you finish frying the rest.
Store leftover flatbread and curry separately in the refrigerator for up to five days or freezer for 2-3 months.
Wrap the baras in a damp paper towel and microwave them for 15 seconds or warm them in the oven at 325℉ (160℃). The curry filling reheats fine in the microwave or stovetop.
What to Serve With Doubles
For a flavor-packed Caribbean spread, Jamaican beef patties, grilled jerk chicken tacos, and tropical guacamole are incredible. A glass of sorrel or mango lemonade is a refreshing drink.
More Tantalizing Curry Recipes to Try
- Ground Beef Curry
- Jamaican Curry Chicken
- Curry Beef Satay Skewers
- Lamb Curry Recipe
- Caribbean Curried Shrimp
Watch How to Make It
This blog post was originally published in April 2016 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Doubles (Curry Chickpeas and Spicy Flatbread)
Ingredients
Spicy Flatbread (Bara)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½-1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons yeast (active or dry)
- ½ teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- 1¼ cups warm water or more (adjust amount to form soft dough)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Curry chickpeas
- ¼-½ cup canola oil
- 2-3 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons thyme (fresh or dried)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained
- ½ tablespoon chicken bouillon powder (optional)
- 2 cups or more broth (or sub with water)
- ½-1 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
- 1 scotch bonnet or habanero pepper
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 2 tablespoons or more parsley, chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
Bara (Spicy Flatbread)
- In a large bowl, combine all-purpose flour, yeast, salt, sugar, cumin, turmeric, and yeast. Mix well.
- Then add warm water a little at a time until you get to the desired consistency – it should be a soft ball. If the dough is too sticky, use some oil to prevent it from sticking to your hands. Knead for a minute or two.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and set it in a warm area. Let it rise until doubled in size (1- 2 hours). Punch it down.
- Divide it into 18 or more pieces. Eighteen balls make medium-sized flatbread, but you can make them smaller by dividing the dough into walnut-sized balls.
- Place a ball on a work surface or palm of your hand; if the dough is slightly sticky, oil both sides and roll it out flat. Set aside or place directly in the hot oil. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.
- In a large saucepan, heat vegetable oil on medium heat until it's about 350℉ (180℃).
- Fry for about 30 seconds or less on each side. The bara should puff up.
- Take it out of the oil with a large spoon or something similar. I usually place them on paper towels to soak up excess oil.
- Serve doubles by placing one bara on a plate, spooning one tablespoon of the chickpea filling, and topping desired condiments. You can top it with an additional bara.
Curry Chickpeas
- Heat a large saucepan with the oil, add onions, garlic, thyme, cumin, allspice, smoked paprika, nutmeg, and curry powder, and stir occasionally for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is translucent.
- Add stock or water if needed to prevent burning.
- Next, add chickpeas, scotch bonnet pepper, green onion, and broth. Bring to a boil and let it simmer until the sauce thickens; it may take 20 minutes or more. Throw in some parsley, and adjust for salt, pepper, and stew consistency.
Tips & Notes:
- I used yeast as always because it imparts an additional boost of flavor; for a quicker version, go with baking powder.
- Double dough should be soft and slightly sticky. If it’s too sticky, let it rest on the counter for about 10 minutes so it absorbs more water and is easier to handle.
- The flatbread fries quickly, so keep your eye on it while frying. If you prefer a more golden flatbread, fry it for 1-2 seconds more on each side.
- Maintaining a consistent oil temperature to get a beautiful golden-brown color on your flatbread. You may need to lower the heat midway through cooking for the best results.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Sasha says
These doubles are seriously good and have become a family favourite in our house. We like to eat them with a cucumber chutney but we’ll have to try them with your scotch bonnet sauce next. Thank you for sharing, Imma!
ImmaculateBites says
You are welcome, Sasha.!
Simone says
Can’t wait to make this! What broth do you use? Chicken, vegetable?
Louise says
Wished it came with the tamarind sauce and shadow beni sauce aswell
Kayleigh says
Amazing! Firm favourite in our house
ImmaculateBites says
Awesome!Thanks so much.
Kimberly Knight says
I am making these tonight! Hope they turn out as good as they did for others 🙂
Imma Adamu says
I’m pretty sure that it will be good!
FrugalMom says
I have to say these are one of the yummiest things we’ve ever had! I’d never heard of them before but was looking for a new way to cook with chickpeas and now I can’t stop making these, they’re SO GOOD! They’re fast and easy and my whole family goes crazy for them. We first tried them a week ago and I’m currently making them a third time already because we all craaaaaave them. Great recipe, great instructions, sooooo delicious! I was a little intimidated by the bara but it was actually not hard. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
Ann says
Excellent job!
I have a question please – if you were to run out of tumerac and really really want to eat some homemade doubles – ca you a little curry powder in the making of the dough?
Thank you.
ImmaculateBites says
Yes you absolutely can
Hillary says
I love doubles. The doubles made in Trinidad primarily and Barbados are incomparable and I have such a hard time finding restaurants in North America with decent ones – I find they are usually lacking in depth of flavour and made too far in advance which compromizes the textures of the bara.
This doubles recipe is fyah! I swear, I could open up a doubles stand in Port of Spain with these! It was simple to make and took virtually no time. The spice blend is perfect. I will add more water to the bara next time as I found the dough was a little stiffer than I like however everyone in my family loved them regardless.
I do think the bara in the photo looks a little too perfect tho! I don’t roll mine out but stretched the balls on the counter which creates the imperfect edges they usually has.
Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe. It will become a staple in my home from now on!
Jane says
These were amazing! I made the bara with baking powder to make it quicker and they were perfectly pillowy. The chana also tasted great. We had them with your Scotch bonnet sauce which was like icing on the cake. Thank you so much for the recipes
ImmaculateBites says
Aww, you are welcome, Jane! Thank you for the feedback!
a jeffrey says
Hi the flour used in making bara do you know what’s the protein content. I think we got different flour in tbe UK
Thanks
ImmaculateBites says
Hi there! The flour used for this Bara recipe is all purpose flour which has a 10% protein content. Hope that helps.
Jim says
I haven’t been to Port of Spain in 25 years and I still literally crave doubles I’ve never found anything to compare here in the States I swear it’s the best thing I’ve I ever put in my mouth. Many attempts to recreate it at home with inadequate results Many recipes call for Nan but that doesn’t do it for me. The bread should be thin but stretchy enough to hold the contents without tearing. It’s called doubles because it uses 2 pieces of bread 1 laid half way offset from each other then folded bottom left the right to form a large pocket not rolled like a burrito or stacked like a sandwich They’re rather messy to eat and are prone to leaking Many people eat them standing up and leaning foward with ties over the shoulder downtown so don’ t be fooled by anything else I suggest a cold jelly coconut to go with it
Cindy Chin Sang says
Amazing! I just made these as was born in Trinidad and sometimes really crave Doubles. I made the dough with my sourdough starter and made a fresh coriander chutney, a homemade hot pepper sauce, mango chutney and grated cucumber to go with the chick pea masala. Absolutely delicious. Thank you!
Imma says
Oh my goodness, that sounds exquisite! I am so glad you enjoyed 🙂
toritown says
Hi, in a yeast desert here, could you explain how you used your starter? Did you just replace 20% of the flour with that amount of starter, accounting for the water in the starter? And did you let it rest at room temp until doubled in size, but just waited longer (6 hours I’d assume?) to let the natural yeast take its time?
Marlene says
I made this last night for the first time. I made the chickpea curry and a pumpkin filling (my favorite) and it was so good, I’m making it again tonight. I don’t have any more chickpeas or pumpkin, so I’m going to try doing something with some shrimp I have. Yum! Can’t wait – thanks for the recipe. I might also try your plain vanilla cake, if I can find that recipe again. I love your recipes!
Marcia Oppong says
Hi Imma,
I tried this recipe, and I would say it came out pretty good! My husband and I enjoyed it, and I plan on repeating it! Thanks for your recipes!
Debs says
Hi,
can I use gram flour to make these (chickpea flour) mixed with a little split pea flour? a bit like the Pholourie?
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Debs, I haven’t tried it with these flours so can’t give you the exact measurements .Keep in mind that using these flours would alter the taste and texture. You might have to play with the dough for best results .
Chris says
Substituting other flours makes the fritters tougher and more cracker-like — the gluten in the wheat flour gives the bara their chewy quality. It’s also important to flatten the dough quite thin or it doesn’t cook through.
Ariez says
Every time I come off the plane in Trinidad I go for doubles& sprite I want to make it here in the states but question can you actually buy the flat bread & just re fry it to cut the baking in half also can the pickled cucumber be purchased or do you have to make it fresh like it looks in your pics
Sara says
These look amazing! I would love to make these tomorrow but I want to pair it with something green! I saw you mentioned pickled cucumber and chutney- is there a particular chutney that pairs well with this dish? Or any other complimentary sides I could make? Thanks! I can’t wait!