Easy Trinidad Doubles Recipe (Soft Bara +Tasty Channa)

If you’ve been craving an easy Trinidad Doubles recipe, this blog post shows you exactly how to make the soft bara and yummy channa at home. This is the same doubles you buy by the stand, but just homemade. Once you have mastered the barra then everything is easy.

Every evening, like clockwork, I make my way to the San Fernando Massy evening doubles stand. I ask for a slight pepper with sweet sauce. That is my order. I can easily eat three with a Red Solo sweet drink.

Sure, it used to be just $2.00, and now it’s $6.00, but let’s be real: there’s no price too high for good doubles. Doubles are Trinidad’s most popular street food, born in the streets and perfected over generations.

What is Trinidad Doubles?

Trinidad Doubles began in the early 20th century. Here’s what I know: it was created by Indo-Trinidadian street vendors, who wanted a cheap and easy meal for laborers.

The base came from Trinidad by indentured laborers between 1845 and 1917 to work on the sugar plantation. Doubles started with bara, channa, and simple spices like turmeric, geera (cumin), and masala.

Doubles as we know it today started with the Deen family in Princes Town in the 1920s and 1930s. The original vendor, Emamudeen or “Mamudeen,” sold bara as a small snack. Customers began asking for “more channa” and “put another bara on top.” That simple request became the first “doubles.

Then, as time passed, customers asked for pepper and sauces such as sweet sauce ( tamarind, shadon beni sauce, cucumber, and more.

By the 1940s and 1950s, doubles spread from Princes Town to towns like San Fernando, Curepe, St. James, and Port of Spain.

Why This Trinidad Doubles Recipe Works?

Do you guys remember during the pandemic when the whole country shut down, and there were no doubles vendors? We had to make it at home. I was one of them. I searched the internet for the easiest double recipe I could make, and here is what I have learnt from my mistake.

Do not burn curry to make your channa. I did that the first time I made it. The channa did not come out the way I wanted it. You need to add split peas to the channa to get that traditional taste. The barra was one of the hardest to make for me. Mine always came out rubbery.

Let your dough be a little soft and oil your fingers, and add a bit of oil to stretch out the barra. Doubles barra should not be too white to too yellow.

Best Tips for Soft, Fluffy Barra

Let’s be honest, doubles is one of the toughest Trinidadian dishes to perfect. It took me quite some time to get the hang of it, and even now I don’t always nail it. But here’s the recipe that has worked for me.

To Make this recipe one of the easiest Trindad Doubles Recipe on The Internet. Let’s start with the barra

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• ¾ cup warm water
• ½ tsp turmeric (for color)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Oil (for frying

Instructions For the Barra

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, yeast, turmeric, and sugar. Then, add warm water gradually, kneading into a soft dough. You’ll need to cover ane let it rest. This usually the first thing I start with and to allow it to rest.

Cover and let rest for at least 1 hour (longer is better)and divide into small balls, flatten into thin rounds.

My tips: Oil you hands before you spread the barra into a circle. Add more oil if you have to.

Fry in hot oil until golden. (Leave the frying for last)

For the Channa (Updated Recipe)

• 2 cups dry channa
• (or 2 cans cooked channa, drained)
• 6 cups water (for pressure cooking)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda (for boiling)
• 1 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)
• 1 tablespoon green seasoning
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon roasted ground geera (cumin)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda (added after cooking for softness & color)
• ¼ cup water (extra, if needed, to loosen the sauce)
• ¼ cup blended split peas ( This is a must, to get the traditional doubles taste)

Instructions For the Channa

Combine 2 cups dry channa, enough water to cover by 3 inches, and ½ teaspoon baking soda, and soak it overnight. (To soften channa)

Drain soaked channa and add to the pot with six cups of water and a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then pressure-cook for 40 minutes.

It is time to season to get the flavor. Add the salt, green seasoning, turmeric, geera, and the cooked split peas and a 1/4 cup of water to get the consistency. Your channa should not be dry. I have provided an image for you to follow. It should look like that.

Cucumber Chutney

• 1 cucumber, grated
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Hot pepper, minced (to taste)
• 1 tsp minced bandhania
• Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together.

Mango Chutney

• 1 bunch (chadon beni or culantro)
• 2 cloves garlic
• Hot pepper (to taste)
• Salt (to taste)Method

Blend everything together.

If you are looking for an easy sweet sauce then check my recent recipe.

Assembly

Place one barra down on parchment paper (to get the fill experience). You’ll want to add a scoop of channa, cucumber chutney, bandhania sauce and pepper. Cover with another barra.

A True Doubles Experience

When you visit a doubles vendor, all you need to do is grab a napkin and let them know how you want your doubles. Some people prefer to skip the sweet sauce, while others choose not to add pepper. Homemade doubles is a different experience, as you can eat it on a plate or however you like.

As a Trinidadian who enjoys doubles every Sunday, I can tell you the truth: you don’t just pick any doubles vendor. It takes time to find one that suits your taste. Each vendor has their own unique preparation. Some include coconut, onion, or cucumber chutney.

Personally, I believe not all cucumber chutney is created equal; some are too watery for my liking. And let’s not forget about the roasted pepper. I stopped asking for roasted pepper about five years ago because my acid reflux makes it difficult for me to enjoy it.

The Evolution Of Trini Doubles

You can order a triple, which is three barra and channa with your choice of sauces. There’s an extra charge for the additional barra. Some vendors also offer curry chicken, shrimp, and goat.

I prefer mine the traditional way, with channa, barra, sweet sauce, a touch of pepper, and shadon beni sauce.

More Trini Recipes

• Tasty Curry Stew Chicken Recipe
• Caribbean Curry Crab and Dumplings Recipe
• Caribbean Curry Lamb Recipe

The Best Trini Doubles Recipe

Recipe by Ren PetersCourse: BreakfastCuisine: TrinidadDifficulty: Hard

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

45

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

This easy Trinidad Doubles recipe shows you how to make soft, fluffy bara and flavorful channa with simple ingredients you already have at home.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tsp instant yeast

• ¾ cup warm water

• ½ tsp turmeric (for color)

• 1 tbsp sugar

• Oil (for frying
  The Channa

• 2 cups dry channa

• (or 2 cans cooked channa, drained)

• 6 cups water (for pressure cooking)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda (for boiling)

• 1 teaspoon salt (add more to taste)

• 1 tablespoon green seasoning

• 1 teaspoon turmeric

• 1 teaspoon roasted ground geera (cumin)

• ½ teaspoon baking soda (added after cooking for softness & color)

• ¼ cup water (extra, if needed, to loosen the sauce)

• ¼ cup blended split peas (This is a must, to get the traditional doubles taste)

Directions

• Instructions For the Channa
• Combine 2 cups dry channa, enough water to cover by 3 inches, and ½ teaspoon baking soda, and soak it overnight. (To soften channa)
• Drain soaked Channa and add to the pot with six cups of water and a 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then pressure-cook for 40 minutes.
• It is time to season to get the flavor. Add the salt, green seasoning, turmeric, geera, and the cooked split peas and a 1/4 cup of water to get the consistency. Your Channa should not be dry. I have provided an image for you to follow. It should look like that.
  
  The Barra
• Mix flour, baking powder, salt, yeast, turmeric, and sugar. Then, add warm water gradually, kneading into a soft dough. You’ll need to cover ane let it rest. This usually the first thing I start with and to allow it to rest.
• Cover and let rest for at least 1 hour (longer is better)and divide into small balls, flatten into thin rounds.