Doubles

Carnival remains both a spectator festival as it is a player's festival, all happening on the streets and mobile for the most part. Food from our diverse ethnic backgrounds in a rage and better still, the portables - Rotis, Wraps, Sandwiches and Burgers (to name a few) all available from vendors on the streets, but holding its own not only at Carnival but all year round is a Trinidad and Tobago favorite - Doubles.

A Doubles - Skillfully Wrapped in Paper 

Doubles is of Indian origin and gets it's name from the two (double) fried dough 'flat breads' called bara each about palm sized, which holds the curried chick peas filling. This messy sandwich of sorts is usually dressed with tangy chutneys, hot pepper sauces and cooling cucumber and coconut preparations. It is eaten with the hands and best when hot (not warm).

Curried Chick Peas (or Garbanzo Beans)

Vendors are all over the country, in most every neighborhood, selling at make shift road side stands or out of car trunks (seriously).  Some have been an established family business for years, perfecting family recipes and gaining loyal followers while putting generations through school.

Wildly Popular - Soft Bara and Delicate
Chickpeas in a Sea of Curry Flavor

To find out where to get the best I thought may have taken time, effort and the fielding of much fierce debate - turns out not. Though the average citizen may enjoy and recommend his neighborhood doubles man's offerings, he will also agree that three vendors rise to the status of Best in all the lands: U-Wee, Medford Boys and Sauce. Don't take my word, poll the forty-six thousand fans of the Facebook page 'I Love Doubles' or the  thirty-six thousand strong of 'I love Doubles by Trinbago' (we did) and see for yourself. The three names topped the list.

U-Wee Doubles & Roti Shop near to the
University of the West Indies (UWI)
Campus in St. Augustine, Trinidad

U-Wee (my favorite) is for those who like a thick bra, filling with body and great condiments (thick too) :)

Medford Doubles: Located on the Main Road
Opposite the Medford Gas Station

The boys near the Medford flyover in have a yellow bara, not too thick not too thin and flavorful curried chick peas (channa as we call it). Their pepper sauce is wicked good. Have it slight if you are not accustomed to spicy foods.

Soft and melt in your mouth fried 
dough called Bara (Medford's)

Sauce (d Original) is at a busy junction in Curepe (North) Trinidad. Theirs is thin bara and slightly 'runny' curried chick peas but really tasty. The hot sauce is nuclear but addictive. Take it ever-so slightly.

Famous 'Sauce' in Curepe, Trinidad

Doubles remains very affordable ($3TT - $4TT) on average, with a few exceptions: D Doubles Den also in Curepe is one such extreme selling larger bara and choices of curried meat and fish to go with the chick peas for around $15TT - something new for the adventurous.

If you want meat....

D Den is the Doubles place for you. 
A Spicy Chicken Doubles

For more on the Best Food available in Trinidad and Tobago visit our Facebook page and our sightings on Foodspotting.

Food and the Festival of Light

Diwali excites me. Every year as members of the Hindu community rush around preparing for this important five day Festival, I, like many non Hindu Trinidadians prepare to take part in the cuisine and sharing that is the Festival of Light.

Diyas

Curries of all kind, traditional Hindu breads and sweets and gatherings planned in intricate detail ensure this public holiday is marked in style and appetites, whetted in year long anticipation are satisfied.

Inside 'The Little Store' Pooja Shop, Curepe Trinidad

A few Bottled Curries from my Pantry

Around this time, I am reminded how lucky I am as a Trinidadian, to grow up with and share these customs and how easily available the rich flavors of India have become. Pooja shops abound all over this country and in the days leading up to Diwali, they are insanely busy. Filled with authentic items from all over India, many visit these shops year-round for kitchen and household goods, clothes, spices, food and prayer related items.

Painted Diyas on Sale in Curepe

Ornate Diyas at My Home

The traditional lighting of diyas remain a sight to behold; glowing clay bowls filled with coconut oil and cotton wicks, arranged in simple rows or elaborate designs on wire or bamboo frames. The lighting of diyas (plain or ornate) symbolizes the reign of light over darkness in commemoration of the return of the Hindu Lord Rama from a fourteen year exile and the vanquishing of the demon-king Ravana.

Steaming Hot Spinach in Coconut Milk

Yellow Split Pea Dhal

Cooking lunch on Diwali for friends and family brings me such joy every year, then later tasting Diwali delights someone else has prepared - even more so. This year my menu was Bodi and Pumpkin Korma, Spinach with coconut milk, Split Pea Dhal, Coconut Rice with Raisins and simple Cucumber Salad.

Slivers of Cucumber and Onion with
Salt, Lime, Crushed Garlic and Pepper

Bodi and Pumpkin Korma

I consider myself a true 'meat mouth' but for Diwali I keep it vegetarian and a few tricks ensure I am always satisfied. I include ingredients like imitation bacon bits (just a little) to cooked greens as I turn off the heat - my usual way to cook greens begins with rendering the fat from pancetta or bacon. I use coconut milk and wet curries so sauces are thick and gravy like. I deepen flavors by roasting cumin and grinding to add to Dhals along with pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg. Large golden raisins make a meaty addition to rice and help balance some sweet with the savory.

Coconut Jasmine Rice with Golden Raisin

Tonight, when I bask in the glow of diyas and the comfort of family, friends and Hindu tradition I will smile, grateful for the continued experience of living peacefully in a rich and diverse Nation, steeped in a food culture.

Shubh Diwali (Happy Diwali).

Trincity Mall Goodness

Good food, even the fast food type, can satisfy more than a need for sustenance: it can deliver pleasure. Spoonful after spoonful, bite after bite getting a taste of the good stuff is never a bad thing and who knew that a Shopping Mall Food Court could help fill you with joy.

Trincity Mall South Side Food Court

Trinidad & Tobago’s diverse and rapidly expanding food culture is apparent, no more so than in the food courts of the Trincity Mall located in the North East of Trinidad. This large and bustling shopping complex has two food courts (north and south sides) and in keeping with my duties of telling you what’s the best to eat where, I’ll take you with me to the south side.

The south side food court has six separate outlets of interesting food for the Mall patron:

• Jawhara - Arabic Cuisine
• Tandoori Hut - Authentic Indian Cuisine
• Stew's - Trini Caribbean Fare
• Rituals Coffee/Pizza Boys - Coffee, Pizza and Donuts
• Thai Express - Popular Thai Fare
• Popeye's - Louisiana Style Fast Food (US Chain)

Scene at the Food Court

Most concessionaires deliver good quality, true to their theme meals for a reasonable price, but two in my opinion are worth visiting the Mall for, Jawhara and Tandoori Hut.


Jawhara
Jawhara’s fidelity to the rich and heady aromatic spices of Arabic Cooking along with their choice of simple quintessential menu items ensure consistent quality of product. They have a small bag of tricks and they prepare them well. Any given time of day, you can expect to see a long line of customers queueing for the lip smacking Shrimp or Chicken Kebabs, Gyros, grilled Fish or Lamb and honest to goodness Middle Eastern sides like Baba Ganoush, Arabic Rice or Potatoes and Falafel.

Jawhara's Arabic Potatoes (right) with Falafel and Kebbi (left)

Every two weeks or so I crave their Chicken Kebabs, covered in Za’atar (Arabic spice mix) sprinkled with oil and flame licked. Perfectly grilled cubes of white meat on a stick, the right amount of charring and smoky flavor. 

Jawhara's Chicken Kebab with Garlic Sauce

What the flame does to the cumin and turmeric in the spice mix is tantamount to a narcotic, it gets in your head and at times, without realizing it, you close your eyes and inhale deeply when chewing. The condiment to compliment this - a thick and creamy garlic sauce, uncomplicated; mayonnaise, garlic and a few simple herbs; it is a great accomplice.

Everything on their menu is good and worth the money to try at least once to see which you like best.

Jawhara's Trincity Mall Menu

Tandoori Hut
My other guilty Trincity Mall south side pleasure is the Tandoori Hut. Authentic Indian Cuisine and like their next door neighbor Jawhara, their limited daily offering affords the significant repetition needed for the perfection of skills to create such authentic dishes. 

The Tandoori Hut Outlet at Trincity Mall

With items like Parata Wraps with fillings of Peneer Butter Masala, Curried Chicken, Fish or Lamb coupled with Fresh Salad, its easy for them to stand out - the fabulous wraps may prompt a nap afterwards though. Nann prepared on demand in their on site Tandoori Oven, heavily spice infused Seafood and Pumpkin Soups, a selection of Curries, Tandoori Chicken (of course), Sweet and Savory Lassis along with Watermelon or Cucumber Juices are on the menu.

When I get the hankering I have anything from a full meal of Rice, Curried Mushrooms and Fish Tikka to a Garlic Nann with Pimentos or my running favorite; their Potato Fries.

Amazing Tandoori Hut Fries

These aren't ordinary fries, they are spiced, deep fried and while hot, dusted in a sugar laced seasoning. Yum! These, still warm, dipped in the supplied garlic sauce - Tandoori Hut's is thin and slightly sweet, yellow in colour and charged with roasted cumin (we call Geerah) are divine. Truth be told, this has replaced a meal for me many days when on the go (not that I need an excuse).

Tandoori Bites

A fairly new item to their repertoire is Tandoori Bites, Chicken Wings marinated in Tandoori Spices and fried to crispy, spicy perfection. Fabulous as a snack when drinking ('Cutters' as we call it) these still juicy morsels have a kick with an earthy heat and their deep red colour is a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.

Well seasoned and bursting with colour - Tandoori Bites

For a taste of the bonafide when needing a change from ordinary fast food, these two choices can lend a little exotic and deliver on the goodness.

With seven casual dining restaurants, two cafe style sandwich shops and thirteen more vendors at the north side food court and environs, Trincity Mall indeed has much more to offer and I'll continue to give you the scoop on what's good.

Trincity Mall is located on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway, East Trinidad.