MIAMI – It is the street food of Trinidad and Tobago: doubles, a delicious fast food created by the islands' East Indian descendants. It's a curbside culinary experience.
Miami resident and Trinidad and Tobago native Badru Deen said his family created it. He said how they created them in his book "Out of the Double Kitchen."
"It's a curry chickpea sandwich made up of two fried flatbreads called baras with the curry chickpeas. It is a delicious vegan meal," Deen said.
Deen grew up watching his parents wake up before dawn to prepare then sell doubles by bicycle in the streets. He said eventually sales from his parents' curry sandwich took them out of abject poverty.
"They saw in a grain of chickpeas the seed of their destiny," said Deen.
While doubles is a staple of Trinidad and Tobago's street food culture, it has now migrated with its people all over the world.
In South Florida, two popular restaurants include Joy's Roti Shop in Lauderhill and LC's Roti Shop in Miami Gardens.
"A lot of people come in here looking for doubles," said LC.
LC has been frying up baras, as well as making her other Indo Trinidadian delights for over 30 years. LC said the key to frying up the perfect bara is to use hot oil.
The dough made with Indian spices is then filled with the curry chick peas and is also well-seasoned.
The double breads, or double baras, gives it the name doubles.
Deen said his parents would have been proud to see the international phenomenon it has become.
"I was compelled to write this story because my parents were illiterate. The history would have been lost if this book was not written," said Deen.
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