Comments on: Trinidad Doubles (recipe)

By: Sylvie

Sylvie — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:23:38 +0000

Once again you have enlightened me to another great recipe. I just love the exposure the internet gives us to so many great cuisines and bloggers. Your photos are fantastic and mouth watering.

By: Sarina

Sarina — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 17:21:30 +0000

oh wow thanks so much sylvie it really is yummy hope you get to give it a try or taste someone else’s one day

By: Marsha

Marsha — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:14:26 +0000

ok here goes. I will admit now that I am harden!
I didnt follow the instructions. I used baking powder and egg white to do the leavening (just experimenting)
The things tasted like pohlorie! I loved it!
ALso they were kinda thick but still airy! Next time I will follow your instructions…But great recipe! Chennete also had it a while ago too!

By: Sarina

Sarina — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:25:26 +0000

yes, hers is a different one i have it bookmarked to try as well NO EGG WHITES!! lolziez … you playing ALton Brown

i realized that the bara batter is what a lot of the vendors using for pholourie

but you made that fast girl, i only posted it a few hours ago

By: Marsha

Marsha — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:45:46 +0000

It don’t take long once you catch a VAPS! hahahah

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:47:36 +0000

Yummy, yummy, yummy. I see you are on a street food roll. Hope to see more. I am really happy, I discovered your blog. I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

By: Sarina

Sarina — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:31:09 +0000

hi helen! yes! i’m in a street food frame of mind lol cooking up today’s installment at the moment (stay tuned tomorrow ) …

i was thinking that this recipe for the bara is probably quite similar to what you were looking for in pholourie… and so some testing between the two will probably get you what you want i’m glad you found me too

By: Helen

Helen — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:43:33 +0000

I have saved your recipe and as you suggested, I will play around with it for the phoulorie. Thanks. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s blog. teehee…..

By: Sarina

Sarina — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 20:58:46 +0000

hehe, i know how that goes

By: Brilynn

Brilynn — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:04:34 +0000

Mmmm doubles! I used to get them at a place called Patty King all the time.

By: Sarina

Sarina — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:29:56 +0000

oh wow hehehe yuh have to try them made by trinis tho

By: Chennette

Chennette — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 05:45:33 +0000

Nice. I went on a doubles craze a couple weeks ago - once I am on an airport. Mmmm. Now I want some again.

By: Sarina

Sarina — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 10:30:05 +0000

they were yum made me want to open a stand! you back now?

By: burekaboy

burekaboy — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:06:51 +0000

double delish ***steals two and runs awayyyyy***

By: Sarina

Sarina — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 01:52:15 +0000

they are reaaaallllly good

By: burekaboy

burekaboy — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:55:15 +0000

i DON’T doubt it for a second!

By: Juliette

Juliette — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 20:58:00 +0000

Wicked recipe, Sarina! Doubles is a staple meal for a Trini any day of the year…lol

Hunger took me over one early morning and I couldn’t wait 1 and 1/2 hours for the dough to raise! (shame!) So I used instant yeast and it worked fab! Also added a touch of saffron and the bara came out with a lovely light golden colour…

Keep up the good work with bringing us Trinis together!

By: Sarina

Sarina — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:14:07 +0000

thanks juliette!

By: Lisa

Lisa — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:48:11 +0000

Hi Sarina,

Thanks for this recipe, and all the great how-to photos. I lived in Grenada for a couple of years, and doubles were one of my favorite foods. Tonight I was thinking, why not try to find a recipe and make them yourself? (There’s no one at all selling them around my area of central Illinois!) I haven’t had one in years. I must try this soon and post about it.

Ooh — doubles!

By: Sarina

Sarina — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 01:26:39 +0000

thanks for the kind words lisa i have visited your site and added you to my blogroll i hope you get a chance to try the doubles recipe and that you enjoy it. Do let me know how it all turns out!

By: Kat in Taiwan

Kat in Taiwan — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:16:26 +0000

Thank you so much for posting this! I recently met a lovely Trini girl who was visiting Taiwan — she hasn’t been home in almost two years, so I went looking for a taste of home to share with her. Your doubles recipes was perfect! So easy to make, and she said they were just like home. Made her cry, even! She says I am family now, and must come see her when she gets back to Trinidad. Ah, the power of food.

Thanks again!

By: Sarina

Sarina — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 01:17:02 +0000

oh kat, thank you sooo much for sharing this, it brought tears to my eyes I never thought that my recipes would or could ever be used this way I’m so happy I could play a part in bringing a smile to your friends face and that I could help her feel a little less homesick *hug*!

By: andrea

andrea — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 03:57:18 +0000

Hi everyone
I am a student here in the USA and I am doing a paper on Trinidad foods. I have to create a menu, which I did with all the doubles ,aloo pie, Pelau etc etc. Now every Trini would know what I am talking about but it is difficult for me to try and explain some dishes, its contents etc. Is there someone out there who can help me? Point me in the right direction where I can maybe get like a Trini Dictionary for foods or something…
Thanks

By: Sarina

Sarina — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 05:50:45 +0000

Hi Andrea Thanks for visiting TriniGourmet.com There was a site that I found a while ago that seemed to provide what I think you are looking for You can find it here:

http://www.usm.maine.edu/~amoroso/Timothy/TriniFood.html

I also found this:

http://www.tobagowi.com/data/fooddrinks.htm

I hope they help!

By: Jeff

Jeff — Mon, 07 May 2007 00:29:31 +0000

Hi. Just had a bunch of friends over for a doubles and they completely loved them. Great recipe and instructions. Thanks so much. Do you know if the doubles can be baked instead of fried for a lighter taste?

By: Sarina

Sarina — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:25:52 +0000

hi jeff! so glad the recipe was a success with you and your friends i’ve never had, tried, or heard of baked bara before, I imagine the texture would be a bit different and the result would be flatter. Give it a try though if you’re so inclined and let me know how it turns out

By: malcolmxpark.org » “Doubles” Down: Brown Sugar Bakery & Cafe

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:50:21 +0000

[…] pastries and cakes. Try the coconut rolls, if you get a chance. Not to be missed are the “doubles.” Available only Wednesday through Saturday, “doubles” are an indigenous street […]

By: shirley

shirley — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:45:20 +0000

I must have did something wrong after you add the 1/3 cup of water then it says to add enough additional water to form a slightly stiff dough is where i believe my problem lies my husband is trini and he doesnt know either LOL!

By: Sarina

Sarina — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 04:11:20 +0000

Oh dear Shirley, sorry to hear about the mishap If the bara came out more like bake/bread you probably didn’t add enough water, the dough should be relatively loose one, see how thin and stretchy they are in the picture above (before they are fried?) Try adding more water until you have a mixture that feels ‘gooey’

By: Tara

Tara — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 22:27:31 +0000

It’s me again, sneaking over on your site for the millionth time!

I had heard of doubles before but didn’t know exactly what they were. I was thinking along the lines of some sort of card game or something. LOL.

Doubles look similar to ham biscuits that we have here in the U.S. in the southern states like North Carolina.

My baking is scary (and working with any kind of dough), so I must confess that I won’t be preparing your doubles recipe anytime soon.

I’ll wait for when my Mom visits and I’ll make her do it.

By: Today’s postcard is … » jugalbandi

Today’s postcard is … » jugalbandi — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:26:47 +0000

[…] bara, covering with another to form a sandwich. (Post and picture reproduced with permission from here. Do check out the additional pictures, video and tips at that […]

By: Ozbower

Ozbower — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:31:21 +0000

Well, is years ah tryin to make a decent doubles but no real success…ah hopin dat the secrets revealed here will put me on the path to true doubles heaven…wooooh!!

By: James Dalton

James Dalton — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 08:02:20 +0000

I honestly love Trini food as much as I love their women, I have no clue which one is better :). This gourmet Trini pictures got me fiending. I cant cook but I sure as hell need to marry a woman who can do this plus more lol

By: marisa

marisa — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 04:25:31 +0000

hi there ,i need a recipe for pone havn’t had it in years and can’t find it in this america ,please help

By: karen

karen — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:20:20 +0000

hi trinis,u know the chinese fry chicken that we get in those chinese restaurants in trinidad? does anyone have the recipe for that? florida chinese food comes no where close to trinidad style chinese food.thanks

By: meressa

meressa — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:53:47 +0000

I tried this recipe today except I used self rising flour, added 1 tsp of baking powder, and didn’t add salt. I did that because this was the way they made it a roti shop where I worked a few years ago. Man were they goood!!! I soaked tamarind and added sugar, blended green seasoning, garlic and pepper to make a sauce and that came out great too. Thanks so much for posting such a manageable recipe. Most recipes for doubles I’ve encountered start with “take 5 lbs of flour….”

By: Kris

Kris — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 03:32:07 +0000

I haven’t been home in Trinidad for a long time. I’m going to make some doubles tomorrow.

By: Msarima

Msarima — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 00:08:03 +0000

I am going to try this recipe,I would also like to get a recipe for Trinidad beef pies.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 23:21:31 +0000

Dis i go have to try out! Just decided to start trying out all kind of Trini dishes dat i eh know how to make yet.

By: Mishimee

Mishimee — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:43:57 +0000

This recipe is pretty good. I have made it two times so far. I used my bread machine to knead the dough both times.

The first time I made it, I fried all the bara and left them on a plate out in the open…but they got sort of hard. It was still edible mind you and good enough to give it another shot.

The second time I put a little bit of dhal flour in with the regular flour…that wasn’t such a good idea as it made the bara a bit dense. What made it better than the first time though, is that I didn’t leave the bara exposed and assembled the doubles at the same time. I fried one bara, took a scoop of channa, put it in the bara then fried another bara and put it on top, then wrapped it up in wax paper right away, just like when you buy it. That way they kept soft.

I’m in Canada, so yes unfortunately, I have gone in search of doubles and received “fried bake.” In addition, I have also received “dinner roll” and “pie crust” varieties. Thanks for this recipe. At least now I can make them myself instead of paying for those abominations

By: Topchef

Topchef — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 00:04:24 +0000

I’ve never found these in the Midwest, although I’ve asked around. It’s somewhat difficult to get the proper texture, but as long as you make sure the dough is slack and wet, everything should come out okay!

Topchef at http://www.epicureforum.com
Your Mise En Place for restaurants, recipes, and everything food!

By: Nick Ross

Nick Ross — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:46:40 +0000

Hi, Thank you so very much for your recipe. It almost made me cry when eating it for the 1st time in 8 years. I have been living and working in India for 8 years and although they have something similar called Chole bhatura, it just didnt quite make the cut. My Russian Fiance and Indian friends flipped when they tasted it. Thank you so much for giving a Trini so Far away from home a taste of home.Do keep up the marvelous work you are doing and May God Continue to bless you…
Nick…

By: jandi bumba

jandi bumba — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:06:20 +0000

first try i messed up the barra…i kept the channa till the next day and followed your instructions more closly and they came out fantastic….i need too find hot peppers too make some heat 4 these recipies….tanks dds

By: kim

kim — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:11:00 +0000

My friend and I tried this recipe and it was delicious. Thanks!

By: Bernard

Bernard — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:41:14 +0000

Just to let you know that I recognize the doubles vendor in the video. He is located opposite the 1 Woodbrook Place construction site by Roxy. He has a great pepper sauce and his channa is full of flavour. Strange how we can recognize things not only by the faces but the small glimpses of the surroundings. A taste of home.

By: Jade Wallis

Jade Wallis — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 18:53:52 +0000

I tried the recipe, I think I followed the directions but am a bit confused as so how soft the mixture has to be, it was sticking to my hands so i couldn’t quite spread it out.I ‘m also thinking maybe the old was too hot cuz they got crispy…what do ¥ou think? I also found the chana quite salts…is that just me ? maybe i’ve been eating salt less food for too long=S
I’ll try it again some time soon, i’m sure if i try enough i’ll get it right evenually, Thanks

By: Keva

Keva — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:36:36 +0000

Once again, I’ve only heard about Doubles ONCE on a non-food website. The way the ladies were raving about it, when I came upon your website and saw the name, I knew exactly what they were referring to. I love chick peas! Your doubles look yummy!

By: Richard Raghbir

Richard Raghbir — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 19:27:46 +0000

It’s a shame where as of April 1st you doubles lovers have to pay as much as $5TT for a doubles