So the other day I was featured on View the Vibe as their Friday Foodie (even though they spelled my name wrong). Between this and interviews I realized that I’ve had this blog for 5 years! Let’s file that under “ish that is cray”. Five years ago I had recently moved back to Toronto after 6 years in NYC and I was bored out of my gotdamn mind working on an entertainment “news” program and a legal show. I started the blog as a little something to do and a way to track all of the amazing things I was cooking. Five years later the number of people that I have met through the blog, interwebs, food events etc. has been huge and the experiences that have come as a result of blogging have been enriching and wonderful. No complaints.
So I figured I’d take a break from finance, accounting, and stats homework (wait… did you know I was a journalism major in undergrad? Right.) and actually post a lil somethin’ somethin’.
I’m slowly getting settled into life in Evanston which means figuring out where to secure some of my favourite food items. In Toronto I know exactly where to go for all of my random food needs, but in Evanston/Chicago? No idea. Luckily I have a few people resources to help but sometimes there just aren’t enough options. In Toronto I love Love LOVE to shop at Bulk Barn. They have great prices, great selection and pretty good quality for bulk items. But get this, there’s no good bulk stores in the Chicago-area (well at least that I’ve heard of). Apparently Whole Foods is the best option but of course is not the cheapest option.
I’ve also had a hard time figuring out an affordable but decent fishmonger and a good and affordable butcher. For me, I used to love to shop at European Meats in Kensington and of course Sanagan’s. There are a few Sanagan-type butchers in Chicago but I’ll have to investigate pricing.
Perhaps what’s been the most disappointing is being able to get some of my fave West Indian foods. Evanston shockingly has a big Jamaican population so I’ve managed to find a West Indian grocer and there are plenty of Jamaican restaurants. BUT apparently the Trinidadian food scene has slim pickings. There’s one restaurant on the south side but I’ve heard it’s okay AND they don’t have doubles. That is a problem. Furthermore, no one in Chicago has doubles. Now, doubles are one of my favourite foods so I realized that this would be a problem unless…
I decided to make them!
And that’s what I did. For the uninitiated, a doubles (it’s always plural, it’s never a double) is a chickpea sandwich with the “bread” being barra which is fried dough. It’s a Trinidadian street food that is often eaten in the morning. I had made a chickpea curry earlier in the week using this recipe so all I had to do was figure out how to make barra. Luckily the internet was ripe with recipes that were all very similar but just had variations on which spices to include.
Making the barra was surprisingly easy. You just make a wettish dough, let it rice, make some balls and shallow fry them things. They puff up and get pliable and are amazing. I swear, the are fewer things more satisfying than hot doubles. My hot sauce game wasn’t up to par and I didn’t make a tamarind chutney (next time) but this was probably one of my fave things that I’ve made in a while. And for the record I ate them with some fried plantains and a bottle of ting. Boom.
Homemade Doubles
For the chickpea filling use this recipe
Barra (adapted from Trini Gourmet)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 teaspoon yeast
1/3 cup warm water
1/4 tsp sugar
Oil for frying
Combine the flour, salt, curry powder and cumin in a large bowl.
In another bowl mix the water, sugar and yeast and allow to foam up for about 5 minutes (you want to make sure your yeast is active). Once active mix with the flour mixture and add enough water to make a slightly firm dough. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour and a half. After this time punch down the dough and let rise for another 10-15 minutes.
To form the barra grab a ball of dough (approx. 1 tablespoon) and flatten into a disc about 4-5 inches in diameter. If needed, oil your hands so that the dough doesn’t stick to your hands.
Heat oil in a frying pan and allow the barra to fry about 15 seconds per side until golden and puffy. Allow to drain on a paper towel.
To serve, spoon some chickpeas onto one piece of dough, sprinkle your hot sauce or other condiments and top with another piece of barra.
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