Doubles

Curepe and Port of Spain, Trinidad (Indian-Caribbean tradition)

Doubles is Trinidad's quintessential street food breakfast — two small rounds of bara (yeasted flat bread fried in oil, golden and pillow-soft) sandwiched around a filling of curried channa (curried chickpeas cooked with shadow beni herb, chadon beni, and cumin), topped with cucumber chutney, tamarind sauce, pepper sauce, and coconut chutney according to personal preference. The bara is the technical feat: a yeast-leavened dough with turmeric and cumin that is flattened thin and deep-fried, inflating with steam into a hollow bread that is pliable enough to fold without splitting. The channa filling is cooked until the chickpeas are soft and the curry is almost dry. A doubles vendor's speed — assembling an order in under 15 seconds — is as much a performance as a skill.

The interplay of curried channa, sweet tamarind, tart cucumber, and scotch bonnet pepper sauce is the complete doubles experience; a cold Carib lager or sweet Trinidadian sorrel drink balances the curry heat.