← Nouns Cooking · Caribbean

Ingredients

• 250 g Plain (all-purpose) flour
• ½ tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 175 ml lukewarm water
• 225 g dried chickpeas (or 2 × 400 g cans, drained), soaked overnight
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 2 tbsp Curry powder
• 300 ml Water
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 1 tsp Salt
• Black pepper
• 500 ml oil for frying
• pepper sauce, to taste
• Mango chutney (optional)
• ½ Cucumber, finely chopped (optional)

Method

1. Mix the flour, salt, turmeric, cumin, sugar and yeast in a bowl, then add the lukewarm water a little at a time to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise for 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, drain the soaked chickpeas, cover with fresh salted water and simmer for 45–60 min until tender. Drain well. (Using canned chickpeas, skip this step.)
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Mix the curry powder with 4 tbsp of the water, then add it to the pan with the garlic and onion and fry for 3 min, stirring, until fragrant.
4. Add the chickpeas and stir to coat for 5 min. Pour in the rest of the water with the pinch of cumin, salt and pepper, cover and simmer for 15–20 min until the chickpeas are very soft and saucy. Crush a few against the side of the pan; add a splash of water if it gets dry.
5. Knock back the dough and let it rest for 15 min. Heat the frying oil in a deep pan to about 180°C (350°F).
6. With wet hands, take walnut-sized pieces of dough and pat them out into thin rounds about 10–12 cm wide.
7. Fry the baras two or three at a time until puffed and golden, turning once; this takes well under a minute. Drain on kitchen paper.
8. To serve, spoon 2 tbsp of channa onto one bara, top with pepper sauce and chutney or cucumber if you like, and cover with a second bara.

Tips

• Never leave hot oil unattended, and keep a lid nearby; slide the dough in away from you.
• Doubles are best eaten within minutes of frying, while the bara is still soft and warm.

Sources

Adapted from “Cookbook:Doubles (Trinidadian Bread with Curried Chickpeas)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook, under CC BY-SA 4.0. This adaptation is shared under the same licence.

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