Doubles

From the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, this deep-fried flatbread is a Caribbean favourite. With our vegan-friendly chana (chickpea) curry and cucumber chutney, it is heaven on a plate.

Credit: Bloomsbury

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil, for cooking and deep-frying

For the doubles

• 450 g plain flour
• 1 tsp easy-blend dried yeast
• 6 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• 250 ml warm water

For the chana

• 2 400 g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• 1½ tbsp cornflour

For the chutney

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper (chilli)
• Handful of coriander leaves
• 1 tsp each salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 large cucumber, halved lengthways and seeds removed, grated

Dough chilling time: 1 hour. 

Makes 10-12.

Instructions

1. To make the dough, combine the flour with the yeast, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Mix together. Add enough warm water to form a sticky dough, then knead into a ball, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

2. For the chana, mix the chickpeas with the garlic, onion, spring onions and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a deep frying pan, add the curry powder and ginger and cook down over a medium–high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the chickpea mixture to the pan and stir, then cook for 5 minutes. Pour in enough water to cover the chickpeas, and bring to the boil. Mix the cornflour with a likkle cold water to make a paste, then add to the pan, mix and simmer for 15 minutes until thick.

3. To make the chutney, fling the garlic, scotch bonnet, coriander, salt and pepper into a blender. Squeeze in the lemon and blitz into a puree. It'll smell like fire! Pour this puree over the grated cucumber and mix it up.

4. To deep-fry the doubles, half-fill a heavy pan with vegetable oil and place over a high heat. Spread a little oil over the dough, break off a walnut-sized piece and roll into a ball, then flatten into a thin round. Repeat with the rest of the dough: you should get 10–12 rounds.

5. To test if the oil is hot, drop in a piece of bread; if it turns golden in 15 seconds it’s hot enough. Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, lower the rounds into the oil and cook for 20 seconds – they will sizzle into puffy flatbreads. Turn them using tongs, and cook for another 10 seconds. Drain on kitchen paper to absorb any oil. Serve with the chana and chutney.

Recipe from Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home by Craig and Shaun McAnuff (Bloomsbury, HB, $49.99). 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.