Doubles is Trinidad and Tobago’s popular chickpea-filled flatbread sandwich.
A serving of doubles consists of two pieces of fried bara, a soft spiced flatbread, filled with curried chickpeas called channa. It is usually topped with chutneys, cucumber, coconut, tamarind, pepper sauce or other condiments. The two baras give the food its name.
Doubles originated in Trinidad in the early 20th century. Food histories commonly credit Emamool Deen and his wife, Rasulan, with selling the dish in Princes Town in 1936. It later became strongly associated with street-food culture, especially breakfast and late-night eating.
Doubles is sometimes confused with roti, but they are not the same dish. Roti usually refers to a flatbread meal wrapped around a curry filling, while doubles uses two fried bara breads and chickpeas. Trinidad’s Indian heritage is central to the dish, reflecting migration from the Indian subcontinent during the colonial period.