WITH SLIGHT PEPPER, T&T’S DOUBLES RISES AGAIN

THE sight of basketball television commentators savouring doubles during a recent high-profile game is yet another indication of the appeal of this Trinidad and Tobago-created street food.

TV personalities at the Toronto Raptors vs. New Orleans Pelicans game in Toronto, Canada were seen chomping away at doubles, inspiring mainstream media news reports.

This is another example of the international rise and spread of simple street food that was developed at a humble Princes Town home in the late 1930s and first sold at the Triangle town square.

History records doubles as being pioneered by the couple Emanool Deen and Rasulan Ali, first called bara, and then doubles, because of the two soft and smooth dough held together with tasty curried channa (chickpeas).

Selling doubles on his makeshift bicycle during colonial times, Deen could never have imagined the current global reach and demand for his tasty dish.

Today, doubles is enjoyed by foodies around the world, and heralded by connoisseurs everywhere.

The British Broadcasting Corporation’s praise of doubles is typical of everyone who has ever sampled the “street food of the twin-island nation that emerges as a jewel.”

For the uninitiated, doubles, according to the BBC, “is a humble sandwich made from curried chickpeas tucked between two pieces of fried flatbread and dressed in tamarind and coriander sauces, mango chutney, kuchela (spicy, green mango chutney) and cucumber,”

It is a description to get you hungry for two – with slight pepper.

The best doubles, BBC tells us, “feature soft bread and tender chickpeas that have undergone a long simmer in a curry sauce.

“When the condiments are added, the punch taste experience perfectly balances sweet, tart and spicy, all in one addictive little package.”

It is an anytime fare, the broadcaster adds, “that serves as a popular go-to for late-night clubbers, a welcome hangover cure, a Carnival staple and a fast-food breakfast for school children and commuters.”

And, of course, for basketball commentators!

In other words, “the adoration of doubles cannot be overstated.”

Deen’s proud grandson, Badru Deen, has written “Out of the Doubles Kitchen,” a book on the creation and evolution of the highly popular T&T street food.

The younger Dean said his grandparents, keen to rise from the hardship of meagre wages from sugar cane work, fried channa on a chulha and wrapped it in brown paper cones, for sale at the roadside.

As they did better, they innovated to include bara, to which they added the channa and sauces.

When satisfied customers asked Deen to “double up” on the tasty dish, the meal got a lasting name.

The popularity led to continuous growth and the current prevalence

The BBC terms doubles “a poster child for the cuisine of Trinidad and Tobago,” and “beloved by everyone.”

Think of the colourful history and global appeal the next time you enjoy this iconic T&T food.