Trini Doubles Filling

I traveled to Trinidad for the first time this February for Carnival.  This was a trip of a lifetime- Bucket List. I arrived at 1pm at Piarco International Airport, and my friend Reinier and his brother picked me up. First thing on the list was to get something to eat. We went to the food area outside the airport. There were plenty of places to eat and many choices of food. We decided on the Doubles Stand. This was my first time trying the famous "Doubles", and I loved it! I had this delicious sandwich again at the Soca Scorch Fete. Again, loved it!  This is basically curried chickpeas with some simple toppings served on fried flat bread. This dish can become sloppy, so make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand. The link below describes how the famous street food "Doubles" came about.  http://www.newsday.co.tt/features/0,135890.html


When I came home from Trinidad, I had a case of Tabanca. I just learned this new word on my vacation.  My understanding of Tabanca, in simple terms, is vacation withdrawal. The best way for me to deal with this, was to cook some Trinidadian food. First up... Doubles filling. 




Ingredients:
1 16oz bag of dry chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
2 tbsp palm oil (olive or canola oil work well too)
1 sweet onion sliced thin
5 garlic cloves pressed
5 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Toppings:

2 cucumbers peeled and shredded 



Hot pepper sauce



Directions:

Soak dry chickpeas over night in cold water. Drain and rinse beans with cold water. In a large pot, boil the chick peas until tender (almost fully cooked). You can also put them in the crock pot on high for about 6 hours. Drain the beans in a colander.  Peel and shred the cucumbers and set aside. Using the same pot,  saute the onions until translucent with oil on medium low heat, add the garlic, and 4 tsp of curry powder. Saute for 2 more minutes. Add the chickpeas to the pot and stir well. Add 2 1/2 cups of water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes (partially cover the pot with a lid). Add cumin and 1.5 tsp of curry powder. Stir, and simmer until beans are very tender and almost all the liquid is soaked up. Stir occasionally. 

Serve:

1. Make a sandwich- chickpeas, cucumbers, and hot pepper sauce in a pita bread.
2. Make a salad- lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, and hot pepper sauce

3. Stand alone- chickpeas, cucumber and hot pepper sauce.







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