doubles (food)
{{Short description|Indo-Caribbean street food originating in Trinidad and Tobago}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name = Doubles
| image = FOOD Doubles 2.jpg
| caption = Doubles
| country = Trinidad and Tobago
| region = Caribbean, United States, Canada, United Kingdom
| creator = Emamool Deen
| course =
| served = Hot
| main_ingredient = Curry chickpea and bara
| variations =
| calories =
| other = Served with: various chutneys, kuchela, and pepper sauce
}}
Doubles is a common street food originating in Trinidad and Tobago and is of Indo-Trinidadian origin. 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.{{cite book |last=Deen |first=Badru |year=2013 |title=Out of the Doubles Kitchen: A Memoir of the First Family of Doubles |publisher=Caritrade |location=Palmetto Bay, Florida |isbn=978-0615855363 |page=2}} 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.{{cite AV media |date=December 22, 2015 |title=Trinidadian Doubles are the Best Cheap Eats in Brooklyn — Dining on a Dime |publisher=Eater |via=Youtube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Qkm29OBZg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/F1Qkm29OBZg |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=9 November 2019}}{{cbignore}}
It has been speculated that it was inspired by a northern Indian dish called chole bhature (or sometimes channa bhatura).{{Cite web |last=Ganeshram |first=Ramin |date=2022-02-28 |title=Trinidad's addictive spicy street snack |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210526-doubles-trinidads-favourite-street-food |access-date=2023-11-24 |website=BBC Travel}} 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 or plain turmeric powder are fried briefly.{{cite book |date=2002 |title=The Multi-Cultural Cuisine of Trinidad & Tobago. Naparima Girls' High School Cookbook |location=San Fernando |publisher=Naparima Girls' High School |page=85 |isbn=976-8173-65-3}} 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.{{cite journal |last=Plaza |first=Dwaine |date=9 July 2014 |title=Roti and Doubles as Comfort Foods for the Trinidadian Diaspora in Canada, the United States, and Britain |journal=Social Research: An International Quarterly |issn=1944-768X |volume=81 |issue=2 |pages=463–488 |doi=10.1353/sor.2014.0021 |s2cid=142287294 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/549126}}
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.
Trinidadian-Canadian filmmaker Ian Harnarine has released two films, the 2011 short film Doubles with Slight Pepper[http://www.indiewire.com/2013/08/watch-ian-harnarines-award-winning-doubles-with-slight-pepper-short-shouts-165523/ "Watch Ian Harnarine’s Award-Winning ‘Doubles With Slight Pepper’ (Short Shouts!)"]. Indiewire, August 30, 2013. and the 2023 feature expansion Doubles,Marie Saadeh, [https://exclaim.ca/film/article/doubles-film-review "'Doubles' Looks at a Toronto Through a New Lens"]. Exclaim!, July 26, 2024. which centre in part on the significance of doubles as a signifier of Trinidadian culture among Trinidadian expatriates.{{Cite web |last=Wentling |first=Elizabeth |date=Jul 25, 2024 |title=Director Ian Harnarine drew inspiration from Trinidadian doubles for his debut film |url=https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/director-ian-harnarine-drew-inspiration-from-trinidadian-doubles-for-his-debut-film-1.7273879 |website=CBC}}
See also
{{portal|Trinidad and Tobago|Food}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.simplytrinicooking.com/doubles/ Doubles Recipe]
{{sandwiches}}
{{Surinamese cuisine}}
Category:Indo-Caribbean cuisine