Trinidadian doubles (curried chickpea flatbread sandwiches)
Bread
Doubles are one of the iconic snacks from Trinidad, where my husband is from. In fact, they were invented in 1936 in Princes Town, Trinidad, quite close to my husband's village in the South of Trinidad. Doubles are basically a snack-sized sandwich made of two flatbreads known as bara, filled with a curried chickpea (or channa, as it is known in Trinidad) filling. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Trinidad's cuisine, many of its popular dishes are Indian in origin, as is nearly half the population. Doubles are most commonly eaten at breakfast (and the best vendors will sell out by mid-morning), but they're also sometimes eaten as a late-night snack. They can be eaten as-is or further customized with condiments, most commonly Trinidadian pepper sauce (made of Scotch bonnet peppers), kuchela (green mango pickle spiced with amchar masala) or a thin tamarind sauce. It's worth seeking out a Caribbean market to get these ingredients and condiments, or second best an Indian grocery. In a pinch, Mexican habanero pepper sauce (my husband's favorite is el Yucateco) can be swapped for Trinidadian Scotch bonnet pepper sauce and Indian mango pickle (not chutney) will give a similar tart-spicy flavor as the kuchela. My photo was taken of doubles we ate on a recent trip to Trinidad, served as they are normally sold, wrapped in paper. <br /> <br />This recipe is adapted from the Naparima Girls' High School Cookbook, a classic community cookbook from Trinidad. If you want to learn more about Trindadian food, visit my blog: http://spiceboxtravels.com/2013/01/04/feasting-fetes-and-parang-christmas-in-trinidad/
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