Doubles
Updated March 25, 2024
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Prep Time
- 30 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
FOR THE BARA
2 cups/256 grams all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon bhuna jeera (roasted ground cumin) or ground cumin
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 2 cups vegetable oil, plus more as needed
FOR THE CHANNA
1 cup dried chickpeas (soaked for 24 hours with ½ teaspoon baking soda), or 3 cups canned chickpeas (from two 13.5 oz cans)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 scallions, greens and whites finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder, preferably Madras
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon amchar masala or garam masala
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 whole Scotch bonnet chile (optional)
2 chadon beni (culantro) leaves, chopped, or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
FOR SERVING
Pepper sauce or hot sauce of choice
Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the bara: Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, yeast, turmeric, cumin and salt in a large bowl and mix with a fork until fully incorporated. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, then slowly pour in ¾ cup lukewarm water, mixing with a fork until the dough starts to get shaggy. Knead the dough with your hands just until it’s soft and pliable. (Dough will be a little sticky.) Let rest, uncovered for at least 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Prepare the channa: If using dried chickpeas, drain the soaked chickpeas, then transfer to a deep saucepan and cover with 6 cups water. Increase heat to medium-high and boil for 45 minutes to 1 ½ hours until chickpeas are tender and easily crushed between two fingers, skimming any foam off the surface of the water. (The cook time can vary quite a bit depending on the size and age of the chickpeas, so test them along the way.) Drain chickpeas, reserving 2 cups of the chickpea broth.
- Step 3
Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large, deep skillet over medium. Add onion and scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until just golden.
- Step 4
Stir in the garlic, then add the curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric and amchar masala and fry until fragrant. Add the thyme sprigs, Scotch bonnet and chadon beni, then pour in the cooked chickpeas and 1 cup reserved chickpea broth (if cooking with dried chickpeas) or water (if using canned chickpeas). Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes until flavors meld.
- Step 5
Discard the thyme sprigs and Scotch bonnet, then separate about ¼ of the chickpeas and purée them until smooth, returning to the skillet to thicken the sauce. If you want brothier channa, add more chickpea broth or water. Season to taste with salt. Cover and set aside while you prepare the bara.
- Step 6
With oiled fingers, divide the dough into 12 equal balls and transfer to a lightly oiled working surface. Form each ball between two hands, then set it on your work surface and press it out with your fingers, gently spreading from the middle to the edges, as if smoothing a sheet, until it forms a superthin, 5-inch round. (Holes are OK.)
- Step 7
Line a large baking sheet with paper towels, then heat 2 cups of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Working with one round of dough at a time, gently place the uncooked bara on the surface of the oil. It’ll puff up and rise to the surface. Flip after a few seconds, when the bara starts to turn golden in spots, then fry for a few seconds more, until golden and starting to show some stiffness when lifted out of the oil. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Step 8
To serve, overlap two bara on a plate and top with a generous spoonful of channa. Drizzle with an array of sauces of your choice: mint-cilantro chutney, tamarind sauce and pepper or hot sauce. Serve fresh and piping hot.
Private Notes
Comments
If you're never had doubles on the roadside after carnival in Trinidad you may not understand why getting the bread just right makes a HUGE difference. Folks who are new to this food may want to try it authentically to understand the cuisine before westernizing the recipe. I'm super excited to try this at home and shoutout to the Times for including a hard to get but beloved West Indian recipe in their collection that pays homage to the makers.
It's so easy to make roasted cumin, and the flavor really really is different! Madhur Jaffrey's way is to put 4 to 5 tablespoons of whole cumin seeds into a small, heavy frying pan and place the pan over medium flame. No fat is necessary. Stir the seeds constantly and keep roasting them until they turn a few shades darker. She says cast-iron is better, but I have done it in a regular skillet. Grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
Our food is best when you keep it original, adaptations are a no-no.
Made exactly as written (except I used Bob's Red Mill Artisan Bread Flour) and it was very good - ESPECIALLY the bara. Light and fluffy and amazing (check your oil temp). The chana could use way more heat, IMHO. Not exactly sure how to do that - add a second scotch bonnet? Chop up the pepper and leave it in? (I have had excellent, authentic doubled before, so I know a little, haha.)
added tamarind paste to the chickpeas helped simplify the steps
I made this today. For those who are skeptical of deep fried food, I air fried the bara at 400F for 7 minutes. In the past I air fried pakwan in daal-pakwan recipe and the texture came out great. I know people might say “nothing can compare the taste of deep fried bara” — but it’s for those who still wanna try traditional food and want to avoid deep frying stuff. Also I don’t cook daily and using up the fried oil and leaving them on counter is a hassle!