Trinidad Doubles is a world renowned delicious snack made of curried chickpeas and deep-fried bread.
But this favourite meal is more than just a delicacy; it’s a national cultural symbol of Trinidad and Tobago.
Internationally, this iconic meal has been strongly imprinted on the cultural identity of Trinidadian immigrants in the US, Canada, and the UK.
The global influence of doubles is so strong that the 30th of May is recognized as International Doubles Day.
This historic date marks the arrival of the first Indian workers in Trinidad in 1936 which is celebrated as Indian Arrival Day.
Table of Contents
History of Doubles
Doubles was first created in Fairfield, Princes Town, Trinidad by Muslim Indians Emamool ‘Mamudeen’ Deen and his wife Raheman Rasulan Deen in 1936.
Mamudeen worked as a supervisor on a sugar estate for 25 cents a day which was far too little to support his growing family.
The couple’s grandson, Badru Deen, writes in his book Out of the Doubles Kitchen that in an attempt to rise above poverty, his grandparents sold their only goat, and used the proceeds to start a food business.
This brave act of entrepreneurship lead to Mamudeen placing a handful of cooked chick peas, locally known as ‘channa‘ on brown paper and then selling it.
Eventually, he replaced the brown paper with just one piece of fried flat bread known as ‘bara‘ which was used as an ‘edible plate’ to hold the channa together for consumption.
But soon after, customers requested two pieces of flat bread or to ‘double up on the bara‘ which was served in a sandwich-like formation.
The popularity of serving two pieces of bara outgrew the single bara and gave rise to the term doubles, which up to the time of this writing, has still not been trademarked.
The concept of the doubles has largely remained intact but with the additions of several new condiments or ‘toppings’ to suit the tastes of wider audiences today.
It is normal to find roasted hot pepper, tamarind chutney or ‘sweet’ sauce, chadon beni sauce, roasted coconut chutney and even grated cucumbers to accompany a doubles meal.
The concept of gourmet doubles temporarily gained favour with a handful of people, and can include cooked meat such as chicken, duck or shrimp and even wild meats like agouti or deer added to it.
Hardcore doubles aficionados for some reason do not favour the idea of gourmet doubles leading to an ongoing debate among the doubles community not much different to the ongoing debate of pineapple on pizza.
Popular Doubles Condiments
Doubles by itself is already a mouth-watering treat, but when combined with a range of condiments, the taste can be made even more divine.
Doubles and all its condiments are quickly gaining popularity among vegans all around the world because traditionally it doesn’t contain any animal products.
And as veganism continues to grow in popularity across the globe, this plant-based delicacy is finding its way onto menus everywhere.
You can easily find these popular condiments at a doubles stall near you:
- Mango Chutney – slow cooked mangoes mixed with spices.
- Tamarind Chutney – slow cooked tamarinds mixed with spices.
- Coconut Chutney – dried roasted coconut with seasoning.
- Cucumber Chutney – grated cucumber with other seasoning.
- Pepper Sauce – scotch bonnet or cherry pepper with garlic, chadon beni and salt.
- Roasted Pepper Sauce – same as regular pepper sauce just peppers are roasted before blending in with other ingredients.
- Kuchila – pickled mango with amchar massala.
- Chadon Beni Chutney – blended bandhania with pepper, garlic and salt.
You should experiment with each different combination of condiments to establish your own personal preferences.
This is a time consuming but certainly enjoyable process!
The Iconic Doubles Stall
There are hundreds of doubles stalls scattered throughout Trinidad and Tobago and they all mostly look like the same wooden box on a plastic table under a tent with one person serving while the other collects money, or some variation of this.
This humble aesthetic has become part of the national pride of Trinidad and Tobago that has strongly united people of different creed and races, or at least while they eat doubles.
Around a doubles stall you can easily find people of different colour, ethnicity, religious and financial backgrounds all standing shoulder to shoulder enjoying a doubles.
There is a brotherhood felt among people at a doubles stall, that despite never having previously met, they still share a common understanding and a love for the nation’s unifying meal.
This unity in diversity among people has become an integral part of the culture of eating doubles hot-on-the-spot.
Trinidad street food doubles vendors themselves also have a kinship with their ‘regulars’ and often greet their customers arriving at the stall with a smile and even by name.
The vendors already know their orders and their preferred drink!
They are always on the lookout for customers who might have fallen sick or didn’t show up at the stall after a long period. (This results in doubles tabanca or feeling sad due to lack of eating doubles for way too long).
Trinidad doubles vendors take pride in their profession and consider it to be a privilege.
They enjoy the opportunity to meet and interact with customers, who they are connecting to on a personal level.
Historically, doubles were only served as a breakfast meal; the busiest vendors would typically sell out by mid-morning causing a morning rush for people to line up early to get their meals.
But now things have changed; with the ever growing popularity of doubles this has led to many venders serving doubles all day sometimes into late evening.
You can find a doubles stall at any local roadside stand on a main road, side road, or even on the back of a wagon with new ‘mobile doubles‘ services popping up throughout the countryside.
How to Eat Doubles
Trinidad Doubles is a street food that is typically eaten by hand and not with a knife and fork.
The most common way to eat doubles is hot on the spot and standing on the roadside around the doubles stall.
The doubles with all requested condiments will already be added and then given to you on a square piece of paper supported by a napkin underneath.
The technique is to slightly bend forward to prevent the liquid components from falling back on you.
At this point you have two options:
OPTION A:
You can tear off a bite-sized piece of bara and use the ‘teared off’ piece to wrap around some channa and consume it in one go. You then repeat this indefinitely until you have no more doubles left.
OPTION B:
You take the first bara and calculate half of the channa available to you and try to pick that amount up with the first bara. You should now have a taco-like shaped bara with approximately half the total channa which you can eat just like you would a taco.
Once the first bara has been consumed, you then form the second bara into the same taco shape with the remaining channa and consume just as you did the first.
OPTION C:
I don’t actually have an Option C but thought I’d leave this here anyway just in case you have another way to eat doubles that I can test and then edit this article if it works out well. Please get in touch with me if you do!
The Best Doubles in Trinidad
The best doubles in Trinidad is a highly subjective but ongoing debate.
If you ask one hundred different Trinis about where you can get the best Trinidad doubles you will get one hundred different answers.
The best doubles in Trinidad is simply the one you like the best.
There is no shortage of doubles vendors for you to perform your own taste tests.
Perhaps a better question might be:
How many doubles can you eat in one sitting?
I can eat 10 if it’s okayish doubles and 15 if it tastes really good!
Conclusion
Doubles is more than just delicious fast food, it is a part of the national identity of every Trinidadian and Tobagonian.
While doubles may have only been around for a short time, it continues to unite the country and tear down prejudices.
But if that unity which is experienced around a doubles stall should one day be extended throughout the country, Trinidad and Tobago will be a much better place for us all to stand together as brothers and sisters shoulder to shoulder even when outside the doubles stall.
A heavy burden on a light snack, I know, but time will tell…