Doubles
Vegetarian
Two soft, turmeric-tinted fried flatbreads (bara) sandwiching curried chickpeas, finished with tamarind sauce, cucumber and pepper sauce. Trinidad and Tobago's favourite breakfast street food.
Doubles is a Trinidadian street food from Trinidad and Tobago, ready in about 2 hours 35 minutes and made with all-purpose flour, chickpeas and curry powder. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Rest
- 1 h 30 min
- Total
- 2 h 35 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 641
Ingredients
For the bara
For the channa
To serve
Method
Step 1
Mix the flour, yeast, turmeric (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab) and ½ tsp salt with about 200 ml warm water to a very soft, sticky dough. Cover and leave to rise until doubled, about 1½ hours.
- 10 min
- 28°C · warm place
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp of the oil and soften the onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab). Add the curry powder (opens in a new tab) and cumin (opens in a new tab) with a splash of water and cook to a paste.
- 6 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels Step 3
Add the chickpeas (opens in a new tab), remaining salt and about 250 ml water. Simmer, crushing some chickpeas, until soft and saucy.
- 20 min
- low heat
Step 4
Heat the frying oil to 180 °C. With oiled hands, pinch off golf-ball pieces of dough, flatten into thin 10 cm rounds and fry one or two at a time, turning once, until puffed and lightly golden.
- 15 min
- 180°C
- medium-high heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Lay the dough into the oil away from you; never leave hot oil unattended.
Step 5
For each double, lay two bara overlapping, spoon channa on top and add tamarind sauce, cucumber (opens in a new tab), pepper sauce and herbs to taste. Fold and eat immediately.
- 3 min
About this dish
- Origin
- Trinidad and Tobago · Commonly attributedDeveloped by the Indo-Trinidadian community.More food from Trinidad and Tobago
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Street food · Sandwiches
- Cooking method
- Deep-fried, Simmered
- Taste
- spicy (chilli heat), savoury, tangy, aromatic / warmly spiced
- Diet
- Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free - Good for
- Street food · Portable / lunchbox
- Cook more with
- All-purpose flour · Chickpeas · Curry powder · Dried yeast · Turmeric · Sugar
- Techniques
- Deep-frying · Simmering · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour
- May contain: Mustardfrom curry powder
- May contain: Celeryfrom curry powder
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
641 kcal per serving
Calculated1 serving ≈ 364 g · recipe makes 4
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 11%
- Carbohydrate 56%
- Fat 33%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g* |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 641 kcal | 176 kcal |
| Protein | 17.6 g | 4.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 91.4 g | 25.1 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 79.2 g | 21.7 g |
| Sugars | 7.4 g | 2 g |
| Added sugars | 1 g | 0.3 g |
| Fibre | 12.2 g | 3.4 g |
| Fat | 23.5 g | 6.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 1.8 g | 0.5 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 1032 mg | 283 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 2.6 g | 0.7 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 345 mg
- Calcium
- 111 mg
- Iron
- 6.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 65 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 2 µg
- Vitamin C
- 3 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 300 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
- Optional ingredients are not included: tamarind paste, cucumber, chilli sauce (sriracha-style), coriander leaves.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- The dough should be softer than bread dough — oiled hands make it manageable.
Common mistakes
- Rolling the bara too thick — they should be thin and puff quickly in the oil.
Serve with
- Wrap in waxed paper for an on-the-go breakfast.
Storage
- Keep channa refrigerated up to 3 days; bara are best fresh.
Reheating
- Reheat channa until bubbling; warm bara wrapped in foil in a low oven.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Masalas in this recipe
Make the masala first, then come back to finish the dish.
Dry spice blend
Everyday curry powder (British-style)
This recipe uses 2 tbsp (12 g for 4 servings (2 doubles each)).
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 25 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h 30 min
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Bake · about 15 min
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 2 h 10 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | Flour | 300 g | 100% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 4 g | 1.4% |
| Dried yeast | Yeast | 3 g | 1% |
| Turmeric | Other | 2 g | 0.5% |
- Total flour
- 300 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 0%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Tough or chewy flatbread
Likely causes
- Dough too stiff
- Not rested
- Cooked too slowly on too cool a pan
What to do
- Add water until the dough is soft and slightly tacky
- Rest 20–30 minutes covered so the gluten relaxes
- Cook on a very hot tawa or pan — quickly
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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