Doubles, I can't recall the exact first time I tried doubles, but I am telling you it is one of my favorite things. The flavors are out of this world delicious.
If you have never heard of doubles, it's a street food in the Caribbean served by street vendors, particularly in an island called Trinidad and Tobago.
The filling in the middle is so incredibly delicious - rich, flavorful and mouth - watering good.
I had to recreate this goodness at home seeing there wasn't any Caribbean restaurants nearby where I could purchase it.
Going through the entire process can be quite time consuming. From making the bara, to the condiments, the sauces, it does take some time and work. Let me tell you though, it is totally worth it.
I will be sharing also the bara as well as the tamarind chutney that is paired with it. However, I will be focusing mainly on the Channa part of this dish in this recipe.
The Channa part of made up of garbanzo beans, which they refer to as Channa. It also has spices, and a secret ingredient.
There is a secret ingredient that someone actually shared with me, and I am able to share that with you.
The secret ingredient will not only add that distinct flavor that comes from channa for doubles, but it also adds thickness and creaminess to the sauce. We will be using yellow split-peas to achieve this goodness. Yellow split peas also known as dhal, can be found at many supermarkets, you can also check online or use the green split-peas if you can't get your hands on the yellow kind.
Ingredients:
2 tins of chick peas
3 to 4 cups of boiling water
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 cup of dhal / split peas
2 cups of water
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/4 small onion
3 cloves of mined/ grated garlic
1 tbsp of curry powder
3/4 tbsp roasted geera/cumin powder
1 and 1/2 cup of water to cover chick peas
1/4 cup of cilantro or 1/8 cup of chopped up culantro
1. Rinse yellow split peas. Soaking overnight will decrease the cooking time and help aid with digestion of the peas
2.In a small saucepan bring water and dhal/yellow split peas and whole garlic cloves to boil.
3. Reduce heat to about medium and cook until the split peas are breaking down fully. Mash it with the back of a spoon to create a paste. You are looking to make this into a paste / mash.
4.In a large pot, bring to boil 3 to 4 cups of boiling water.
5. Add in 2 cans of chickpeas.
You can use dried chickpeas that have been soaking overnight, however cooking time will differ and be longer.
6. Add in baking soda to your boiling water and chickpeas.
7. Start to stir immediately, it will bubble and froth up. Stir until it calms down.
8. Cook chickpeas until tender, times could really vary but usually about 20 minutes.
9. Drain Chick peas and set aside.
10. In a large pot, on medium heat, add in vegetable oil.
11. Once oil is wamred add in your chopping onion and grated garlic.
12. Saute in the oil for a couple minutes.
13. Add in your curry and geera/cumin powder to the oil, onions and garlic.
14. Stir until everything is well combined.
15. Cook all of that for about 3-5 on medium heat, stirring often. We are looking for the flavors to develop at this point.
16. Add in your drained chickpeas and stir well.
17. Add in water to cover chickpeas and stir.
18.Time to now mix in the dhal/yellow split pea paste we made. Add to the chickpeas and stir well.
19. Cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
Tips:
I usually cook everything uncovered for this recipe.
When boiling you dhal/split peas you may need to keep adding water so it doesnt dry out and burn. You are looking for a paste/mush .
Serve in the middle to two Baras, topped with chutneys like Tamarind Chutney, pepper sauce and grated cucumbers.